Camping Trip
by Salmon
Summary: An AU DrakexJJ and DeexRyo fic. Dee, Ryo, Drake, and JJ are put on assignment together, and they have to go camping...doesn't this sound like a recipe for disaster? R&R please!
1. Camping Trip

Hi all. This is the second Fake AU fanfiction I'm putting up. Don't hold you're breath for a third. (j/k) It's a Drake/JJ & Dee/Ryo Fake fic that's very happily AU. But it's happily AU, not unhappily AU. It's cheesy and cutsey, but it's got some really funny moments. Enjoy. 

Salmon

PS: No, I don't own these characters. I just borrowed them. Don't sue me, I don't have any money.

* * *

CAMPING TRIP

An AU Fake Fanfic

"Drake. Drake, wake up." JJ, fully dressed, gave his partner a shake. Drake lay asleep on JJ's bed. The covers slightly lower than his waist showing that he wasn't wearing any clothing. "Drake." JJ gave his partner another shake. Drake groaned and drew the pillow over his head. "Wake up, lazy bones." JJ pulled on the pillow, managing to get ahold of it after a short struggle. "We have work, Drake."

"Why can't I sleep longer?" Drake complained. JJ hit his butt with the pillow. Drake sat up with a shout. "Hey!"

"We have to go to work." JJ told him.

Drake glanced at the clock. "In two hours! It's 6 AM!"

"You have to go back to your own apartment to change clothes." JJ reminded him.

"That won't take me two hours." Drake protested.

"I'll cook some breakfast."

"I'm hungry." Drake stated, but he grabbed JJ's wrist and pulled him onto his lap. "Not neccessarily for food...but hungry..."

JJ flushed. "Drake!"

"Here." Drake whispered huskily in his ear. Then began nibbling on it.

"Drake, we have work. You don't have any clean clothes here-"

"I could bring over a week's supply." Drake suggested, loosening JJ's tie and unbuttoning the top few buttons of his shirt so he could kiss his way down his neck.

"Oh, I'm sure you'd love that."

"Mm-hmmm."

"As things stand you have to go back to your own apartment to change clothes. And we have to eat breakfast."

Drake lifted his head to look into JJ's eyes. "Good idea. I'll start with something sweet." He smirked. JJ opened his mouth to protest and Drake grabbed it with his own, cutting him off.

* * *

"Ryo! Dee!" Carol's voice drifted into the bedroom before she knocked. "Hello? Can someone make us breakfast?"

Dee groaned, and turned his head into the pillow. "Tell them to go back to sleep."

Ryo yawned. "Carol's here...what time is it?" He slipped out of Dee's arms, ignoring Dee's protest. "6:15?"

"Go pour yourself a bowl of cereal!" Dee shouted. Ryo hit his arm. "What?"

"We're out!" Bikky shouted back.

Ryo yawned again. "I'll go make breakfast." He stood up, pulling on a pair of jeans.

"I'll see you in an hour." Dee told him, lying back down.

"Oh, no you don't." Ryo pulled the pillow out from under his head. "If we're up, you're up."

"Hey, how is that fair?"

Ryo was already rummaging in the closet. He threw some clothes at Dee, and pulled on his shirt. "It's perfectly fair. Why should you get to sleep in if we don't?"

"What if I don't want to wear this?" Dee complained.

Ryo exhaled in exasperation. "Dee..." He complained, reaching for the clothes. Dee grabbed his wrist and pulled him onto the bed. "Dee!" Ignoring the protest Dee kissed him, and was rewarded by Ryo relaxing against him.

"Hey! Breakfast!" Bikky banged on the door.

"We're starving!" Carol added.

"Their going to break that door down soon." Ryo pulled out of the kiss, sitting up. "And you're wrinkling your clothes." He pulled the clothes out from under Dee, shoving them into his arms. "Get up." He added, kissing Dee briefly. He stood up and headed for the door.

"I'm getting up! I'm getting up!" Dee ran a hand through his hair.

Ryo, smiling, glanced back once before exiting the room. Dee put the clothes on the bed and layed back down. Ryo opened the door, looking in. "Get up!"

Dee sat up. "I'm up! I'm up!" Ryo closed the door and with a sigh Dee stood up, picked up the clothes, and headed for the bathroom.

Outside the door Ryo turned and found Carol grinning knowingly. "What?" He asked her.

"Dee sure is tired today." She mentioned.

"It's 6:15 AM." Ryo pointed out.

"6:20." Carol skipped after him.

"Alright, 6:20 AM." Ryo shrugged.

"Were you two up late last night?" Carol asked, grinning.

"Carol!" Bikky protested.

"What?" Carol asked him innocently.

"Go sit down and let me make breakfast!" Ryo called back to them. Not turning so they wouldn't see his red cheeks.

"You know, you've picked up this whole shouting thing ever since you and Dee-!" Carol began.

"CAROL!" Bikky cut her off.

In the kitchen Ryo froze, blushing a deeper shade of red. Then a thoughtful expression came onto his face. 'I wonder if we have changed because of eachother...' He pulled things out of the cabinet.

In the hallway Bikky and Carol were still arguing. "All I was saying was that ever since Dee and he got involved he's picked up some of Dee's habits and vice versa."

"That's not what you were saying." Bikky crossed his arms.

"Oh, and what do you think I was saying?" Carol asked her boyfriend. "That ever since Dee and Ryo had s-"

"Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Whose mind is in the gutter? You're the one who thought I was saying-!"

"That's what you were saying!"

"Do you think you two can get louder?" Dee asked them from the bedroom doorway. "I think there's a few apartments near the top of the building who haven't heard you yet."

Carol took a deep breath, but Bikky clamped a hand over her mouth. "Don't even think about it." He told her.

Dee rolled his eyes and made his way to the kitchen. He opened his mouth to say something, and paused - noting Ryo's thoughtful expression. Briefly wondering if Ryo had even heard Bikky and Carol shouting, he stepped closer. "Ryo?"

"Hm? Oh, Dee...can you scramble some eggs?" He asked.

"...sure. What were you thinking about?"

"Something Carol said this morning."

Dee blinked. "What?"

"Do you think we've changed because of eachother?"

"I don't doubt it." Dee answered, setting an egg carton on the counter. "When people are around eachother for awhile I think they're bound to pick things up from one another. Especially when they're around eachother constantly, like us."

Ryo nodded, washing off his hands. "How..." He began, but trailed off.

"Go on." Dee told him.

"How do you think I've changed?" Ryo asked, drying his hands on a towel.

Dee paused, then grinned. "Well, I think you're less of a stiff than you were when we first met seven years ago."

"What!" Ryo whirled. Dee began to laugh, turning back to the eggs. Ryo smacked his butt with the towel.

"Ow!" Dee spun around. With a pleased smile Ryo hung up the towel. Dee couldn't stop a smile from coming to his face. "In example - I don't think you ever would have even thought of doing that seven years ago."

"Eggs." Ryo turned Dee around and gave him a shove. But there was a bright smile on his face as he pulled a mixing bowl out from the cabinet.

* * *

Drake was waiting on the steps of the New York Police Department's 27th precinct when JJ made it there a few minutes before 8 o'clock. "Morning, Partner." The blonde greeted him, brown eyes dancing.

"Good morning." JJ replied. "You look like you're in a good moon today."

"I had a good night...and a good morning." Drake replied with a grin. JJ couldn't prevent a blush from coloring his cheeks. Shooting Drake a warning look he hurried up the steps. Drake caught his arm before he could get inside the building. "Can I come over tonight?" Drake whispered to him.

Berating his heart for speeding to such a fast pace over such a simple request JJ ignored the question. "If we don't get in on time Taicho will have our heads."

"Does that mean no?" Drake paused, frowning.

"...yes, it means no."

"Why?"

A mishevious glint in his eyes JJ leaned his face very close to his partner's. "Cuz I can't take the wear on my body." It was Drake's turn to blush, his grip loosening on JJ's arm. Taking advantage of the situation the silver-haired cop slipped out of his partner's hold and dodged into the building, surpressing a laugh. But the laugh escaped right before the door closed and Drake hid a smile before running after him.

"Ryo, Dee. Taicho wants to see you." Someone delivered the message as they passed by.

"Right now?" Ryo queried.

"ASAP."

Dee sighed as he shoved his jacket into his locker. "Well, so much for a quiet day."

"Drake, JJ - Taicho wants to see you." Ted appeared out of the throng of people entering and exiting the building.

JJ glanced at his watch. "But we're not late." He protested.

"It's about a new case." Ted assured him.

"But we're in the middle of one." Drake told him.

"Not anymore." Ted shrugged.

Drake sighed. "C'mon." JJ grabbed his arm and pulled him toward Taicho's office.

* * *

"You wanted to see us?" Dee opened the door to Taicho's office.

"Take a seat." Taicho replied. Dee and Ryo glanced at eachother blankly before entering and sitting down. They sat in silence for over five minutes before the door opened again.

"You wanted to see us?" JJ asked, entering with Drake. The four men paused when they saw eachother.

Taicho looked up and paused. "Cutting it a little close this morning?" He asked.

JJ and Drake froze, realizing they hadn't removed their coats before coming. "Seconds to spare." Drake replied with an apologetic smile.

"Take a seat." Taicho told them.

Glancing at eachother they sat down next to Dee and Ryo. "What's going on?" Drake mouthed to Dee, who shrugged.

"You four have a case." Taicho told them, holding up a file.

"We FOUR?" JJ repeated.

"Problem, Adams?"

"No. No problem at all." JJ replied.

"Good. There's been some suspicious activities reported at an abandoned factory. Every time a group of cops is sent in they find nothing. But the reports start up again not long afterwards."

"Where is this factory?" Ryo queried.

"About 20 miles out of town." Taicho replied. "In the middle of a forest."

"How's that our jurisdiction?" Dee spoke up.

"We've been asked to investigate. Anyone care to object?" Noone replied. "Good."

"Who's been reporting the activities?" Drake asked.

"Campers mainly. So...you four get to go undercover. As far as anyone is concerned you're a group of friends out camping. In the meanwhile you keep an eye on the factory. Any questions?"

"Yah, why us?" JJ asked.

"Randy and you have the best eyes in the precinct. Dee and Drake are your partners. So you four get to go. If anyone has a problem with that, too bad." He handed Ryo a file. "I want you four up there tonight. And I want a daily report."

"Daily? How long do you think this will take?" Drake questioned.

"I have no idea."

"What about JJ and my case?"

"Someone else gets it for now."

"But we've...yes, sir." Drake sighed when he saw Taicho's look.

* * *

"Oh, fabulous. An excursion to the middle of nowhere for who knows how long..." JJ sighed when they were safely outside of Taicho's office.

"Maybe it will be nothing." Ryo suggested.

"Don't jinx us." JJ told him. "Taicho will keep us up there forever if it's nothing because it'll take forever to convince him it's nothing."

"Well, everyone got camping gear?" Drake asked. "I've got some basics. Sleeping bag. Lantern. Water canteen."

"I have some stuff I haven't used in an age." Dee responded. Ryo and JJ remained quiet. Dee and Drake looked at their partners, at eachother, and at their partners again. "Nothing?" Dee asked.

"Nothing." Ryo and JJ replied simultaneously.

"This'll be fun." Dee crossed his arms. "Tell me you have hiking boots."

"No." Ryo and JJ answered.

"O-kay...Drake and I get gear. You two pack clothes. And before we leave town we stop at a shoe store."

"Oh, you want us to pack for you too?" JJ sounded insulted.

"Fair is fair. We're getting the gear." Drake pointed out, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keychain. "Here." He offered it to JJ, who looked at him blankly.

"I already have the key to your apartment." JJ reminded him. Then his eyes widened, and he clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Oh, you do...do you?" Dee turned to them, his gaze sly. "When did that happen?"

JJ flushed. "I'll go pack." He turned and started off.

Dee turned his gaze on Drake. "So why were you offering him your key? Forget? Or didn't you want to let us in on the fact that he had one? C'mon, Parker, what's the big secret?"

Drake pocketed the key chain, his cheeks coloring. "Let's go get that gear." He turned and started off. Dee hurried after him. "C'mon, aren't you gonna let me in?"

Ryo hesitated, then hurried after JJ. He caught up with him just outside the station. "JJ, wait!" JJ turned a surprised look on him. "Don't let Dee get to you. He lives to torment."

"Oh, I'm not. That was my mistake. A major mistake, and all mine." JJ replied, starting off again.

"Well, wait." Ryo hurried after him again, and JJ paused. "I was thinking-"

"You don't have to be nice to me, McClane." JJ cut him off.

"What?"

"We've always been rivals. What, you think because I'm with Drake now all that should change?"

"I..I guess." Ryo acknowledged.

JJ shook his head. "Our rivalry has always had two layers. Personal and Proffessional. Our personal rivalry may be finished now that I've lost interest in Dee, but we're still proffessional rivals and we always will be." He turned on his heel and strode away.

Ryo frowned, his shoulders slumping. "I guess..."

To Be Continued...

Yah, I know - I just put up a Drake/JJ fic last time. Sue me. I really like them as a couple. And Ryo and Dee are in it as more than bit characters this time!

Salmon


	2. Camping Partners

CAMPING TRIP Part 2: Camping Partners  
  
An AU Fake Fanfic  
  
Late that Afternoon...   
  
The van parked on the dusty dirt road. "Well, kids, here's our stop." Dee quipped, glancing around. "Right over there is the hill that overlooks the factory."  
  
"Oh, joy." JJ lept out of the van.  
  
"It's not so bad." Drake opinioned. "Very picturesque." JJ looked at his partner sarcastically.  
  
"We should probably start by setting up camp." Ryo stretched. "Probably put the tents over there...atleast fifty feet from the hill....since we don't want anyone to know we're watching the factory. That clearing should be large enough for all four tents."  
  
Drake and Dee exchanged a glance. "Well," Drake began, "Why don't you two set up camp while Dee and I fish for dinner?"  
  
"Fish?" JJ asked.  
  
"Don't you like fish?" Drake asked him.  
  
"That's not what I meant. Wait, Ryo and I have to set up camp and you two go fishing? That's not right."  
  
"Haven't you ever been camping?" Drake asked, pulling fishing poles out of the van.  
  
"Yes, I've been camping!" JJ replied testily. "I've also been fishing, and setting up camp is the harder of the two."  
  
Drake was slowly backing away toward the woods with Dee, who also had fishing gear. "That's a matter of opinion..."  
  
"Dee...Drake..." Ryo came around the side of the van. "Why are there only two tents?"  
  
"Two tents? Really?" Dee asked innocently.  
  
"Dee..."  
  
"Oh, wait a minute." JJ frowned at his partner fiercely.  
  
"Fishing, see ya!" Drake waved and dodged into the woods, Dee on his heels.   
  
"Drake Parker!"   
  
"Let 'em go." Ryo told him. "It's pointless to argue now. We have to make do."  
  
"Those little...!" JJ glared at their partners' retreating forms. "We should have know they were up to something."  
  
"You think we would by now." Ryo shook his head. "Come on, help me put up these tents." Walking around to the back of the van he pulled out a long box.  
  
"You know how to put these up, right?"   
  
"Don't you?"   
  
Silence reigned for a minute as JJ and Ryo looked at eachother.  
  
  
  
"Think they'll be okay setting up camp?" Drake asked Dee.  
  
"Why wouldn't they be?" Dee returned.  
  
"I was just thinking that neither of them seem like campers."  
  
"Ha...no kidding."  
  
"Well, then, why are we-?"  
  
"Do you really want to stay there when they've just found out we only brought two tents?"   
  
"...no." Drake admitted.  
  
"Then we go fishing." Dee stated.  
  
"Where do we go fishing?"  
  
"Don't you have the map?"  
  
"No, I thought you were getting it."  
  
"..."  
  
"This is not a problem...all things like this come with instructions." JJ emptied one of the boxes onto the ground.  
  
"I thought you said you'd been camping." Ryo mentioned.  
  
"McClane, I'm from LA. Camping to me is and RV with a hot shower and a working stove."  
  
"Oh."  
  
"Haven't you ever been camping?"  
  
"Never."  
  
"Well, if we don't get this campsite set up before Drake and Dee get back we'll never hear the end of it." JJ held up the instructions triumphantly. "Ta-da! Instructions, we're saved..."  
  
"Yah, if we can understand them..." Ryo looked over his shoulder at the thick booklet.  
  
"Hey, we can do this...we HAVE to do this."  
  
"I guess all things considered we're lucky they only brought two tents." Ryo mentioned as they started putting the tent together. "I don't know if we could have handled putting up four tents before they got back."  
  
"Two tents....those little...I now just what THEY were thinking..."  
  
Ryo blushed. "Yah, me too."  
  
"Of all the...we're out here on business and all they can think about is..." JJ trailed off when he looked up and saw Ryo's red face. "Um...so far so good." He glanced at the instruction booklet. "See, we can do this."  
  
"Yah, but I feel like we're going slower than a snail."  
  
"We'll be faster on the second tent." JJ assured him. He glanced around and snickered.  
  
"What could possibly be funny?" Ryo queried.  
  
"I was just thinking that the reason we four were chosen was because Taicho wanted you and I to watch the factory, and Dee and Drake just got sent along because they're our partners."  
  
"Yah, so?"  
  
"Well, it's just you and I are two cityboys who can't even put up a tent without instructions. Meanwhile Drake and Dee are already off playing Davy Crockett."  
  
Ryo laughed. "Yah, I guess so."  
  
"And they were the afterthought. Go figure that one."  
  
"Hey, we're not doing so bad with this tent." Ryo smiled as they finished a piece.  
  
"Hey, we're doing pretty good." JJ let go of the piece he's been holding. The framework promptly fell on its side, falling apart.  
  
Ryo looked at the pile of parts dully. "Why didn't it stay up?"   
  
JJ flipped through the instructions madly. "...because we didn't stake it to the ground." He held up the booklet for Ryo to see." Ryo groaned.  
  
"We're not catching any fish." Drake pointed out.  
  
"I know." Dee answered.  
  
"If we don't catch even one fish JJ and Ryo are going to laugh their heads off at us."  
  
"I know."  
  
"What are we going to do?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
"One tent!" JJ cheered.  
  
"We have to put up a second one." Ryo reminded him.  
  
JJ sighed. "I know we do."  
  
"And then we have to put everything inside them." Ryo added as they started on the second tent.  
  
"That's not what's worrying me." JJ glanced up at the sky, which was starting to color with sunset. "It's what happens afterwards."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"It's just...well, Dee and you live together so I guess you're fine with sharing a tent. But the only times Drake has ever slept over is when we've slept together."  
  
"Slept together?!" Ryo exclaimed.  
  
"Yah, slept to - what's the matter?"  
  
"Well, it's just...You and Drake haven't been together that long as...y'know, a couple...and-"  
  
"We've been together six months." JJ protested.  
  
"Well, yes...but, six months is...well-"  
  
"Ryo, not everyone makes someone wait six years...as a matter of fact I'm guessing that's a rarity."  
  
Ryo flushed. "Well, yah...but six months seems so short."  
  
"To me it seems like forever. Time is a matter of perspective, McClane. Y'know, most people wouldn't have waited around for six years. They would've given up completely or wandered a bit. Dee did neither."  
  
Ryo smiled. "He didn't, did he?"  
  
"Talk about head over heels..." JJ shook his head.  
  
"Hey, Drake's been waiting for you for awhile." Ryo pointed out.  
  
"I guess so..." JJ sighed happily. "Well...uh.." He blushed, realizing how dreamily he'd replied. "That's neither here nor there. I'm still not sure about spending who knows how many nights alone in a tent with him."  
  
"Actually, I'm not so sure Dee will behave himself either..."  
  
"Considering they only brought two tents, considering how quick they were to get out of here when we found out...you can bet neither of them are planning to behave."  
  
"And we can't exile them to the couch for misbehaving."  
  
"We can exile them to the campfire..." JJ suggested, then paused. A slow smile spread across his features. "Ryo, I just go the most delicious idea." He grabbed the blonde's arm.  
  
"What?" Ryo asked blankly.  
  
"You know how they planned our sleeping arrangements."  
  
"Do I ever." Ryo rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yah, well...let's disappoint them." JJ grinned wickedly. Ryo paused, letting the meaning of JJ word sink in. Then a smile spread aross his face. "Isn't it delciious?"  
  
Ryo tried to swallow his smile. "That would be really mean."  
  
"They really deserve it."  
  
"Well..." Ryo paused, the smile slipping back on his face.  
  
"C'mon, I see that wicked smile. Let's do it!" JJ exclaimed excitedly.  
  
"We'll have to hurry." Ryo stated.  
  
"YES!"  
  
  
  
"So...you and JJ..how long has that been going on, anyway?" Dee queried.  
  
"Over six months." Drake replied in a pleased fashion.  
  
"And you're already lovers, huh?"  
  
"What makes you say that?" Drake asked, not looking at him.  
  
"One tent. JJ having the key to your apartment." Dee listed.  
  
"I have the key to his." Drake added.  
  
"So...this is serious?"  
  
"I hope so....what about you and Ryo? You're living together. How is that?" Drake turned the subject away from JJ and him.  
  
"It varies." Dee answered casually. "Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's great. Sometimes it's god awful."  
  
Drake laughed.  
  
The sun had set and night had set in. JJ and Ryo lay sprawled by a fire they'd started with Dee's lighter. "They don't ask, we don't tell." JJ had told Ryo. They'd finished the campsite and were waiting for Dee and Drake, occasionally checking on the factory.  
  
"I think they're trying to starve us so we forget about the tents." JJ opinioned. He lay on his back next to the fire, his head cushioned on his jacket and his hands.  
  
"I don't think they're trying to starve us, but I bet they are hoping we'll forget the tents if they're out long enough." Ryo stated. He lay on his stomach, his chin propped up on his hands.  
  
"Hmmm..." JJ looked around the campsite. "At this point we could have set up four tents."  
  
"Well, we don't have to worry about that now." Ryo grinned.  
  
JJ laughed. "Not that they'll be happy about that."  
  
Ryo chuckled. "Hey, what happened to our proffessional rivalry?" He queried.  
  
JJ paused. "We have been acting rather friendly, haven't we?"  
  
"I'd say so."  
  
"Well...just because we're rivals doesn't mean we have to be enemies...I guess." JJ glanced over at Ryo with a shy smile.  
  
"If we keep getting along like this we might end up friends by the end of the trip." Ryo smiled back.  
  
"We have a common enemy." JJ winked, then burst into laughter. Ryo joined him.  
  
A minute later Dee and Drake entered the campsite. "You two sound happy." Drake mentioned.  
  
"Hmph." JJ tilted his head away from his partner, not standing.  
  
"Nothing's happening at the factory yet." Ryo stood up.  
  
"How do you know?" Dee asked, glancing down at where Ryo had been lying.   
  
Ryo hit his arm. "We've been checking."  
  
"I'm surprised you got the fire started." Drake spoke up.  
  
"We're full of surprises." JJ told him, sitting up. Ryo, trying not to laugh, began coughing. JJ joined him, hiding his own laughter. Dee and Drake exchanged a confused glance. "Well, where's the fish you went for?"  
  
"Here." Drake handed him a tiny fish.  
  
JJ held it up to his eyelevel. "A two-month old kitten would starve on this."  
  
"Yah, well, luckily we brought some in the ice chest." Dee explained.  
  
"We've been starving here waiting for you and we're eating from the ice chest?? Why do we trust you people?" JJ stood up and stormed to the van.  
  
After dinner was cooked and eaten the four sat around the campfire, looking off toward the hill. Dee lit a cigarette. "We have decide who gets first watch." He mentioned.  
  
"I vote Dee and Drake." JJ offered. He sat running a hand along the grass next to him.  
  
Both the mentioned parties froze. "What?" Drake asked, certain he hadn't heard right.  
  
"Dee and Drake aren't partners." Dee told him.  
  
"Maybe Dee and Drake should have thought of that before Dee and Drake were lazy and went off fishing, leaving Ryo and JJ to set up camp." JJ informed him with a smile. Dee glared at him.  
  
"I think that's fair." Ryo spoke next.  
  
"What??" Dee turned to him.  
  
"JJ and I did set up camp and keep our eye on the factory. Why shouldn't we rest first?" Ryo asked him.  
  
"Fine." Drake stood. "Let me grab my jacket. Which tent?"  
  
"The blue one." JJ told him, throwing Ryo a worried glance.  
  
"Okay. We'll watch til three, then you two take over...and tomorrow night we're back to our proper partners." Dee put in.  
  
"That seems fair." Ryo nodded, standing as Drake entered the blue tent. He glanced at the tents, then turned to JJ. "Coming?"  
  
"Right behind you." JJ promised, but let Ryo get well ahead of him before he stood up.  
  
Drake exited the blue tent, watched Ryo enter the green tent, then wallked back to the fire. He stopped JJ before he'd gotten far. "JJ, who's things are in the blue tent with mine?"  
  
"Dee's." JJ answered cheerily.  
  
"What?!" Dee turned.  
  
"Goodnight." JJ told them, running up the hill to the green tent. He zipped up the doorway, ignoring the shouts of protest from the fire. Laughing he turned to Ryo.  
  
""Doesn't sound like they took the news too well." Ryo mentioned.  
  
"Not very well at all." JJ laughed.  
  
"You know, they aren't going to let us get away with this. They'll do...something to get back at us."  
  
"I was thinking that." JJ agreed. "We're just going to have to be on guard."  
  
"For the rest of the trip?" Ryo queried.  
  
"Until they do something." JJ nodded, going to glance out of the tent's doorway.  
  
"What are they doing?"  
  
"Dousing the fire...and talking agitatedly." JJ zipped the doorway back up. "You should have seen they're faces." He snickered.  
  
Ryo couldn't stop a small laugh. "Given they're shouts I can imagine."  
  
"You'd think we'd just shot them in the back or something." JJ shook his head as he curled up in his sleeping bag.  
  
"Well, either way they're bound to be in a bad mood when they come to wake us up for our watch." Ryo pointed out, lying down in his sleeping bag.  
  
"Maybe we should bar the door." JJ suggested.  
  
Ryo laughed. "Goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight." Suddenly the sound of Dee and Drake laughing drifted up from the lookout point. Ryo and JJ's eyes shot open. "Why do I feel like someone just walked over my grave?"  
  
"I don't know...but I have the same feeling..."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
*snicker* C'mon, tell me you can't see this happening. Now for my shameless Review Beg:   
  
Please, review my story because I intend to write more of it but get depressed and uninspired when I don't get reviews.   
  
{Salmon's Id: That was shameless and pathetic.}  
  
Salmon: Oh, shut up.  
  
Salmon 


	3. Camping Tricks

Okay, Part 3 Gotta admit this is fun, don't you? Here we go...  
  
Salmon  
  
Camping Trip Part 3: Camping Tricks  
  
An AU Fake Fanfic  
  
JJ heard the zipper on their tent, and opened his eyes. Moonlight spread into the tent before he remembered where he was. He sat up, turning to the figures who were outside. "Our shift?" He asked in a clear, loud voice - making sure to wake Ryo up.  
  
Ryo sat up as the figures paused. "Yes, you're turn." Dee's voice replied, sounding agitated.  
  
"We're going, go catch some sleep." Ryo told him.  
  
"Hmph." Dee turned and walked over to the other tent.  
  
"Have a goodnight!" JJ called after Drake, who was already following Dee.  
  
"So far nothing." Ryo mentioned, climbing out of his sleeping bag.  
  
"Don't relax yet, they were plotting something." JJ told him.  
  
"Let's get to the look-out point." Ryo stood up.  
  
JJ yawned. "Right behind you."  
  
"2 minutes and 35 seconds." Drake counted. "2 minutes and 37 seconds...2 minutes and 40 seconds..."  
  
Shouts of outrage reached their tent. "Bingo." Dee turned out the light and laid down.  
  
"Those immature little..." Ryo squeezed water out of his hair and jacket. "I'm really going to give them a piece of my mind..."  
  
"No, no, no." JJ grabbed his arm. "We have every right to be mad. But we're not going to. We're going to get even."  
  
"What?" Ryo blinked. "How?"  
  
"I don't know yet." JJ admitted. "But if they're going to act immature," He ran a hand through his soaked hair and glanced up at the now-empty buckets that hung above them in the tree branches, "So can we."  
  
"Go and change. Then I'll do the same." Ryo told him.  
  
JJ nodded and climbed up the hill. Pausing in front of their tent to debate about knocking Drake and Dee's over. Deciding that was too simple he entered the tent and turned the lamp on. He headed for his backpack and paused. A frog sat in front of it. "Lovely." He reached for it. After a short chase he managed to pick it up. "Out you go, Kermit." He tossed the frog gently out of the tent, and returned to his back - pulling out a towel and dry clothes. He paused, looking back at the closed tent flap thoughtfully. A small mischievious grin spread across his features as he began to towel dry his hair.  
  
"We do what?" Ryo asked the next morning as he and JJ were making breakfast. Drake and Dee weren't up yet.  
  
"Fill their sleeping bags with frogs." JJ replied.  
  
"Isn't that immature?"  
  
"And their little prank wasn't?" JJ guestered to the buckets that now stood empty on the ground.  
  
"Well, yes...but we don't have to be immature too." Ryo mentioned.  
  
"Sure we do." JJ replied. Ryo looked at him. "C'mon, McClane. You have to get into the spirit."  
  
"The spirit?" Ryo repeated.  
  
JJ rolled his eyes. "Yes, the spirit of things. They started this but we can't let this go unchallenged."  
  
"They're are a set of rules for camping trip pranks?" Ryo queried sarcastically.  
  
"They're rules for everything, Ryo." JJ told him. "Letting them get away with this isn't an option."  
  
"So how do we convince them to take watch together?" Ryo asked. "They objected to that last night."  
  
"I don't have that part figured out yet, give me time."  
  
"We have until nightfall." Ryo gave in." "But how do we - " He cut off when Dee exited the tent he was sharing with Drake.  
  
"Later." JJ told him, trying to look busy.  
  
"Coffee?" Dee asked.  
  
"Make your own." Ryo replied, concentrating on the apples he was cutting up.  
  
"What's for breakfast?" He tried again. Ryo didn't reply. JJ paused, thinking about something before he checked ont the contents of a pot over the fire. "Oatmeal?"  
  
"Here." Ryo handed JJ the diced apples, which JJ put in the pot.  
  
"Cinnamon?"  
  
"Here." Ryo handed him the jar.  
  
"Smells good enough." Dee mentioned. Neither JJ or Ryo replied.  
  
"Who's cooking breakfast? Smells great." Drake walked up. "Mm...apple cinnamon oatmeal. JJ's specialty." He grinned at his partner.  
  
"Hmph." JJ stuck his nose in the air.  
  
"We're persona non grata today." Dee whispered to him.  
  
"You expected otherwise?" Drake whispered back.  
  
"No...I don't mind making Ryo a little mad." Dee grinned.  
  
Drake smiled. "I kind of like when JJ's in a tiff." He whispered too loud.  
  
"Jerk." JJ tossed the plastic cinnamon jar at him - hitting him on the head.  
  
"Ouch." Dee opinioned as Drake leaned down to pick up the shaker.  
  
"I'd throw it back, but I'd miss." Drake stated.  
  
"By a mile." JJ muttered, putting the lid back on the pot. "It'll be done in about five minutes." He spoke to Ryo alone.  
  
"Thank-you."  
  
"Your welcome. Thank-you for your help."  
  
"Your welcome."  
  
"When did you two become such great friends?" Dee crossed his arms over his chest and looked between his partner and JJ suspiciously.  
  
"Hmph." JJ still wasn't talking to either of the other men.  
  
"Since yesterday." Ryo answered, walking past Dee without glancing at him as he headed for the van to pull out bowls and spoons from an unloaded box.  
  
Dee followed him. "And our sleeping arrangements?" He asked his partner pointedly.  
  
"What about them?" Ryo replied.  
  
"C'mon. Was that JJ's idea or a plot between you two?"  
  
"I don't know what you mean. I don't see anything wrong with our sleeping arrangements." Putting the spoons in the top bowl in the stack of four, Ryo set them ontop of the van and closed the door.  
  
Dee grabbed him, spinning him around and trapping him against the van. "Then how come there's two couples on this trip and neither is sharing a tent?"  
  
"Dee!" Ryo hissed. "Let me go."  
  
"You still mad because of last night?"  
  
"Absolutely." Ryo answered.  
  
"It was a harmless little prank."  
  
"It was immature and rude."  
  
"And harmless."  
  
"And immature." Ryo repeated. Dee looked down at him with a smile. Ryo glared up.  
  
"You're gorgeous when you're angry. You know that?"  
  
"Dee - !" Ryo began. He was cut off when Dee kissed him.  
  
"Stay out of there." JJ hit Drake's hand when he moved the lid of the pot.  
  
"Smells good enough to eat." Drake told him. JJ turned his back to his partner, and Drake grabbed him around the waist. "So do you."  
  
"Drake!" JJ hit his partner's hands - clamped securely around his waist.  
  
"Yes?" Drake whispered in his ear.  
  
"Let go, you jerk."  
  
"Aw, come on...you left me all alone last night." Drake pouted.  
  
"You had company." JJ rolled his eyes.  
  
"Call me crazy, but Dee wasn't the company I had in mind."  
  
"Really?" JJ replied sarcastically.  
  
"And you didn't even tell us until it was too late to protest."  
  
"No kidding."  
  
"You plotted this. I know you too well. It was all your idea."  
  
"Look who's talking about plotting. TWO TENTS? We're on assignment here."  
  
"Who knows how long we'll be here?" Drake mentioned, his voice low. "You don't expect me to spend the whole time with Dee, do you?"  
  
"Are you gonna apologize?" JJ asked him.  
  
Drake frowned. "For what?"   
  
"Your immature little prank, of course." JJ answered testily.  
  
"What for? It was nothing."  
  
"Then you can sleep alone again." JJ shoved him away, and spotted Dee and Ryo. "McClane!!"  
  
JJ's shout snapped Ryo out of the euphoria of Dee's kiss. He punched his partner in the stomach. Dee backed up. "Ryo!" He complained, holding his stomach.  
  
"Unless you're going to apologixe you can back off." Ryo stormed back to the camp, bowls and spoons in his hands. "Bowls. Spoons."  
  
"Breakfast." JJ replied, filling two bowls. "Hre." He shoved the empty ones at Drake, storming off to the other side of the encampments. Dee came over and Ryo walked over to join JJ.  
  
"I take it Ryo wants an apology too." Drake crossed his arms.  
  
"How'd you guess?" Dee queried. "JJ?"  
  
"Says I can sleep alone until I apologize."  
  
"Any idea what to do?"  
  
"Apologize?" Drake suggested.  
  
"Don't be such a wimp." Dee told him.  
  
"I can't believe you let him kiss you." JJ complained to Ryo.  
  
"I didn't LET him kiss me. He just kissed me." Ryo protested.  
  
"You didn't see it coming?" JJ asked sarcastically.  
  
"No."  
  
JJ rolled his eyes. "C'mon, McClane. Were you born yesterday? I bet you've even fallen for the "Look up here" trick." He saw Ryo blush and groaned. "I knew it. Just tell me you haven't fallen for the "Give me a Kiss on the Cheek" Trick."  
  
Ryo blinked blankly. "The what?"  
  
"Y'know. You ask for kiss on the cheek and when they go to give you one you turn and steal a kiss on the lips."  
  
"No, I haven't fallen for that." Ryo told him.  
  
"Because you knew better or because Dee's never tried it." JJ aksed him.  
  
"Umm..."  
  
"He never tried it."  
  
"Has Drake?"  
  
"I"m not that naive."  
  
"You obviously were once, or how else would you know about it?" Ryo mentioned.  
  
JJ shrugged. "Everyone's naive once. But you've really got to wisen up to Dee's ways."  
  
"I didn't notice you checking the camping equipment." Ryo pointed out.  
  
"Um."  
  
"Looks like Drakes' capable of pulling one over you."  
  
"Okay, so with him I mess up. I can trust him too much. It happens . I should know better, but it happens. They're naughty boys. Charming, but naughty." JJ smiled.  
  
A smile played across Ryo's lips then he shook it off. "Hey, we're mad at them." He reminded JJ.  
  
"Right. Because they were immature and spiteful."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"So we're mad."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"...we're pathetic..."  
  
"That too."  
  
"I think we pushed our luck." Drake pursed his lips.  
  
"They'll get over it." Dee assured him.  
  
"When?"  
  
"Soon."  
  
"I don't know..."  
  
"I don't get this frog thing." Ryo stated.  
  
"Snakes?" JJ suggested.  
  
"What if one of them gets bit?"  
  
"Bugs?"  
  
"That's gross."  
  
"Poison Ivy."  
  
"That's mean."  
  
"Ice."  
  
"From where?"  
  
"Then you suggest something." JJ told him.  
  
"I don't do things like this." Ryo replied. "What's the point?"  
  
"Revenge is better than christmas." JJ answered. "C'mon, McClane, you have to get into it."   
  
"...sew their sleeping bags together when they're on shift." Ryo finally suggested.  
  
JJ paused, "That's a good idea...Half a good idea, anyway. Is Dee as heavy a sleeper as Drake?"  
  
"I don't know about Drake, but Dee sleeps like a log."  
  
"Hmmm....."  
  
Dee and Drake had taken first shift, allowing Ryo and JJ the perfect timing for their prank. When they'd been awakened for their shift they were sure to leave before both had made it into the tent. They waited a good hour, making sure the warehouse was quiet. Neither cared to be accused of shirking duties, so they took turns. JJ made sure to make breakfast for Ryo and him early, so when the shouts reached their ears they could make themselves scarce....  
  
The stitches in Drake's sleeping bag finally tore. "What did they use? Metal thread?" He muttered, standing.  
  
"Would you mind helping me?" Dee demanded, still stuck in his sleeping bag by neat stitches. "I didn't have my arms up."  
  
Drake struggled with Dee's bag several minutes before he'd broken enough stitches for Dee to slip out. "There."  
  
"About time." Dee muttered.  
  
"You're welcome Mr. They'll-Get-Over-It." Drake glared at him.  
  
"Who knew they'd do something like this?"  
  
"We should have."  
  
Dee snorted. "Chances are they've slipped off somewhere, too."  
  
Drake nodded, glancing down at the sleeping bags. "Maybe we should apologize."  
  
Dee looked horrorfied. "After this? Now way."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"Sweet revenge, naturally."  
  
"Oh, naturally." Drake rolled his eyes. "What now, Prank Master?"  
  
"JJ as particular about his appearance as Ryo?"  
  
Drake rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding?"  
  
"Good, here's the plan..."  
  
The stream was beautiful. And it spilled over a small waterfalll only slightly taller than they were. "Wow." JJ whispered, reaching out to touch the falling water. "It's beautiful."  
  
"And peaceful." Ryo sat down with a smile. "Truly lovely."  
  
JJ paused a moment, running his damp hands through his hair. "I'd love a bath."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
"We could wrinse in the stream."  
  
"With Drake and Dee so close?" Ryo was horrorfied.  
  
JJ frowned, he'd forgotten how modest Ryo was. "We could wash our hair atleast..."  
  
"Are they back, yet?" Drake asked as he climbed out of the van with a small shopping bag.  
  
"No, come on." Dee took the bag as they slipped into Ryo and JJ tent.  
  
"They're going to kill us."  
  
"It's just temporary."  
  
"Death isn't."  
  
"Just keep a look-out."  
  
"We'll be sleeping alone again tonight."  
  
"They sewed us into our sleeping bads, Drake,"  
  
"And we set up buckets of water to dump non their heads."  
  
"They set up the sleeping arrangements just to torment us."  
  
"We only brought two tents."  
  
"Just who's side are you on?"   
  
"Aren't you done yet?"  
  
"Almost...okay..." Dee emerged from the tent a minute later. "Come on, our time to make ourselves scarce." They headed into the forest.  
  
A couple minutes later JJ and Ryo emerged from the woods, glancing around cautiously. "Any sign of them?" Ryo asked.  
  
"No" JJ replied.  
  
"Good."  
  
"No, bad."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"It means they're out plotting something."  
  
"Come on, let's grab our stuff." Ryo entered their tent. JJ followed. They emerged with backpacks, heading into the woods.  
  
A minute later Dee and Drake emerged from the other side of the clearing. "I said temporary." Dee told Drake.  
  
"I thought I picked up temporary."  
  
"It's semi-permanent. It'll take up to two weeks to wash out..." Dee entered Ryo and JJ's tent. "...SHIT!"  
  
"What?!" Drake peered into the tent.  
  
"Their bags are gone." Dee told him.  
  
"We're dead." Drake groaned.  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
*snicker* Any guesses what they were up to? Poor Ryo and JJ! Although, maybe I should say poor Dee and Drake. *lol*  
  
Salmon 


	4. Camping Tricks Again

Camping Trip Part 4: Camping Tricks Again  
  
An AU Fake Fanfic  
  
"What do you suppose they're plotting?" Ryo asked JJ, as he rinsed his hair next to the stream, not paying attention to the dark streaks in the water that fell to the soil.  
  
"I don't know." JJ had his back turned as he finger combed his hair, not realizing the red coloring of the conditioner. "We just have to..." He trailed off as he brought his hands down. They were stained with red color. "What the...?? Oh, shit!"  
  
"What?!" Ryo whirled, and froze. "You-you're hair..." He paused because JJ was gaping at him. He brought down his own hands. They were stained black.  
  
"DEE LAYTNER!!"  
  
"DRAKE PARKER!!"  
  
The shouts reached the campsite. Drake and Dee exchanged a glance. "I opt for making ourselves scarce." Drake told Dee.  
  
"Right behind you."  
  
"Those....those...." JJ rinsed the last of the colored conditioner out of his hair. "If this is permanent - they're dead."  
  
Ryo held up a mirror, studying his wet, jet black hair. The skin around his hair was stained, as well as his hands and wrists. "How do you get this off your skin?"  
  
"Soap. Provided they haven't done anything to that."  
  
"And hair?"  
  
"Shampoo, if it's not permanent. If it is..." JJ squeezed out his hair, picking up a towel and drying it a little.  
  
"How can you tell?" Ryo turned worriedly.  
  
"It's atleast semi-permanent." JJ told him, looking at his towel.  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"It's not coming off on the towel." JJ replied. "I'm going to give them a piece of my mind." JJ started forward, but Ryo grabbed his arm.  
  
"No. No, we're not."  
  
"What?! After this, they - !"  
  
"It's like you said two nights ago. We're not going to get mad...We're getting even..." Ryo's eyes narrowed, and he looked in the campsite's general direction.  
  
JJ's eyes widened as he looked at Ryo. "You're a dangerous person to make mad, McClane. I think I'll make note of that."  
  
"Don't I have the right to be angry?" Ryo turned, looking suddenly worried.  
  
JJ couldn't help but laugh at the sudden change in expression. "Yes, every right." He assured him.  
  
"So what are we going to do?"  
  
"Pardon?"  
  
"Dee and Drake." Ryo reminded him.  
  
"Drake and Dee." JJ frowned thoughtfully.  
  
"Dee and Drake." Ryo repeated.  
  
"...Is Dee afraid of spiders or anything like that?"  
  
"Spiders? I don't thing so...Is Drake afraid of spiders?"  
  
"Oh, yah." JJ laughed. "It was pretty funny. At my apartment there was this spider and he freaked. And it was just this little tiny one, too."  
  
"Wait...grasshoppers."  
  
"Grasshoppers?: Dee's afraid of grasshoppers?"  
  
"I know it's odd, but he really is."  
  
"Okay, here's the plan..."  
  
Nighttime...  
  
Dee and Drake walked slowly into the camp. JJ and Ryo were at the look-out point. Dee motioned to a covered pot and bowl near the plates and cups. Drake glance over at the look-out point, then nodded.  
  
"Ew!!"  
  
"Ack!"  
  
JJ and Ryo snickered, glancing back. Dee had fallen over backward from the pot, the bowl was on the ground and Drake was eyeing it warily as he backed away. Their laughter drifted back to their partners.  
  
"That was uncalled for!" Dee shouted at them.  
  
"Need some hairdye!" Ryo shouted back.  
  
"Just ignore them." JJ told Ryo, putting a restraining hand on his arm.  
  
"Red's a good color for you!" Drake called out.  
  
"How's the salad!" JJ called back.  
  
"What happened to ignoring them?" Ryo asked.  
  
"Have a nice shift!" Drake shouted.  
  
"Yours starts at 3!" JJ replied.  
  
"If you can get in to wake us up!" Dee called.  
  
"What??" Ryo lept to his feet, but Dee and Drake had already made it into their tent. "Dee!!"  
  
"They wouldn't!" JJ was also on his feet.  
  
"They would." Ryo crossed his arms.  
  
"You creeps!" JJ shouted out, then turned around to sit back down, watching the factory.  
  
Ryo groaned as he sat back down. "We would have been up twenty-four straight hours as it was. I don't know if I can last twenty-eight or twenty-nine."  
  
"Me either." JJ sighed. "Why don't we take shifts? One of us goes sleep until 3 while the other watches the factory, then switch."  
  
Ryo nodded. "Who gets first watch?"  
  
"I volunteer. I"ve pulled 24 hour days before." JJ told him.  
  
Ryo looked relieved. "Okay." He stood up. "See you at 3."  
  
"Goodnight." JJ turned back to the factory.  
  
3 AM...  
  
JJ, yawning, slipped into the tent he shared with Ryo. "Ryo...Ryo..."  
  
Ryo groaned. "Not now, Dee."  
  
JJ rolled his eyes. "Officer McClane." He tried again, shaking his shoulder.  
  
Ryo shot awake. "What? Oh, my shift?" He yawned.  
  
"Yah." JJ yawned too.  
  
"Okay, goodnight." Ryo stretched and exited the tent.  
  
JJ shook his head as he climbed into the sleeping bag. "Mad as you were, you still dream about Dee? That's ridiculous, McClane. I'd never dream about someone I'm mad at..." He muttered as he fell asleep.  
  
Morning...  
  
"JJ." Ryo shook the younger cop's shoulder.  
  
"Drake, I'm still tired." He murmurred.  
  
Ryo paused, then shook his head. "Officer Adams."  
  
"Yes?"" JJ's eyes shot open. "Oh, Ryo - it's you."  
  
"I thought we might want to eat and leave before Dee and Drake wake up."  
  
"I say we skip cooking."  
  
"So what do we eat?"  
  
"Let's head into town, and eat there."  
  
"We're only supposed to go into town for supplies."  
  
"And we're washing our hair with what?" JJ reminded him.  
  
"Town it is...but they've got the keys."  
  
"Ta-da!" JJ produced a set of keys.  
  
"Where'd you get those?" Ryo asked  
  
"They always hand out two, just in case. And I always keep one...just in case."  
  
"Well, after we get some new clothes on we can go."  
  
"What about Dee and Drake?"  
  
"What about them?"  
  
"Are we going to let them get away with what they did last night?"  
  
"What should we do?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
Drake stretched as he came awake, listening. He couldn't hear anything from outside the tent. They'd locked the zippers on the tent door together so it couldn't be opened from the outside. Judging from the light it was daytime. 'Yo, Dee, you awake?"  
  
"Yah, what's up?"  
  
"Guilt. Shouldn't have shirked our shift."  
  
"I guess maybe we should apoloize."  
  
They were silent for several minutes, contemplating that thought. Suddenly there was several sounds from outside the tent, which promptly fell in on them. "Hey!"  
  
"Whoa!"  
  
They heard the van doors. Then the engine turned on, and grew fainter, before disappearing completely.  
  
"They took the van." Drake said needlessly.  
  
"I don't suppose you have the key to the lock." Dee mentioned.  
  
"I don't suppose your flashlight is close enough to reach without searching."  
  
"Drake, I think we're out of our league."  
  
"Really?" Was the sarcastic response. "So, what are we going to do?"  
  
  
  
Town...  
  
"This is going to take forever to wash out." JJ sighed, looking in a mirror. His hair was still shaded multicolors of red.  
  
Ryo sighed, looking at his hair, which was still black. "Atleast our skin's no longer stained."  
  
"True."  
  
"What do you think Dee and Drake are planning?"  
  
"I don't know. But we should be heading back. Though I would suggest buying some boxes with locks to protect our stuff."  
  
"If they haven't been tampered with already." Ryo brought up.  
  
"Good point. We should check through them when we get back."  
  
"Here we are, on assignment, and we're spending twice the amount of time and energy on pranks than we are on the factory we're supposed to be watching."  
  
"Nothing's happening at the factory." JJ pointed out.  
  
"True."  
  
To Be Continued...  
  
As soon as I figure out where to go from here. *lol*  
  
I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the story so far.  
  
You know, I had this written, but I couldn't get it typed up right away, but someone mentioned the tent being knocked down. Good guess! There was also questions of whether this would turn into a lemon. Well, I definately think that after all this, our couples should make out..er, up. So I'd definately say it'll have lime in it. But w/ ff.net rules I tend to avoid lemons. Hope everyone can be satisfied with a lime.  
  
Anyone have any suggestions for where to go from here? You know you do, don't be shy! :)  
  
Salmon 


	5. Camping Troubles

Camping Trip Part V: Camping Troubles  
  
A Fake Fanfic  
  
"And I thought we were good at giving the cold shoulder." JJ mentioned to Ryo as they sat on the hill overlooking the fasctory.   
  
"So did I." Ryo glanced back at Dee and Drake, who were setting up a new tent. Their tent lay dismantled to one side - a human sized gash in it. "They haven't said one word since they came back from picking up the new tent."  
  
"Let them brood."   
  
"Atleast they agreed to take their shift tonight before they left to go into town."  
  
JJ snickered. "Probably afraid of what will happen if they don't."  
  
Ryo sighed. "Don't you think we could all apologize and end all this? I mean, we are on assignment."  
  
"Nothing's happening." JJ guestured to the silent factory below. "Don't wimp out on me now, McClane."  
  
Ryo didn't reply, ressting his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees. He was starting to feel really silly over all these practical jokes. They were on assignment and it was really unprofessional. But JJ's line about wimping out stung. 'Just a little longer.' He assured himself.  
  
Drake looked out over the clearing to where JJ and Ryo were on watch. "Aren't we going to apologize?" He asked Dee. The dark-haired detective just looked a him. "Maybe they'd apologize if we did."  
  
"Let them sweat." Dee opinioned, turning his attention back to the tent.  
  
Drake rolled his eyes, glancing back at their partners. He had a feeling it was JJ that was preventing Ryo from apologizing, like he was allowing Dee to prevent him from. "Stubborn." He muttered, not sure whether he meant Dee or JJ. He knew first-hand how stubborn his lover was. Usually the trait was something he admired, especially when it was applied to their work. Right now he was getting that trait in the teeth, though, and wasn't so sure he liked it as much. Dee, however, was proving to be just as stubborn. No wonder the other cop had been incapable of falling for JJ, Drake thought. They were two much alike.   
  
"Half a mind to switch our gear around so we're paired up properly." Dee said suddenly.   
  
Drake lept out of his reverie, and onto that idea. "Hey, why don't we?" He asked.  
  
"We're being watched like hawks?" Dee suggested dryly.  
  
"Then we'll do it tomorrow." Drake replied. Maybe things would get better afterall...  
  
"They didn't do anything last night." Ryo pointed out to JJ the next morning.  
  
JJ eyed him suspiciously. "Your point?"  
  
"Maybe they're sorry."  
  
"Maybe they're working on something."  
  
"Maybe we're being too harsh."  
  
"Maybe you're trying to wimp out."  
  
"Maybe I'm sick of this."  
  
JJ rolled his eyes. "Really, McClane, you're such a stiff."  
  
Ryo glared. "Dee said I've loosened up." He defended himself.  
  
"Sadly true." JJ turned back to breakfast.  
  
Bristling, Ryo turned back to his own food. "Maybe you're too loose."   
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" The younger man demanded with a frown.  
  
"Well, you can be. You could really learn some control."  
  
"I think your still sore cuz I chased after your boyfriend for so long."  
  
"Why are you bringing that up?" Ryo felt agitated. "Still got a crush on him?"  
  
"Don't call it a crush, we aren't in grade school."   
  
"So you do still like him."  
  
"No, I'm with Drake now." JJ answered. "Why are you dragging this up? You've really got a serious green-eyed monster inside you, y'know that? I bet you'd flip if Dee even looked at someone else."  
  
"You wouldn't care if Drake did?" Ryo demanded.   
  
"No harm in looking." JJ replied.  
  
"See? That's what I mean by too loose."  
  
"I suppose I should cling to him and glare at anything nearby."  
  
"If you're suggesting I do that to Dee - "  
  
"I didn't say that." JJ interrupted. "And who are you to lecture me about relationships? It took you six years to get together with Dee."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with holding back until you're sure about something instead of leaping into it."  
  
The statement needled JJ more than he cared to admit. "I'd rather leap into something and take what's there, than trample someone's feelings by making them wait too long."  
  
Ryo glared, dropping his plate on the ground and standing up. "I don't think that warrants a reply, Detective Adams. But I'll give you one, anyway. I'd rather wait and make sure things were right, than jump in with the wrong person...or persons." He started toward the woods.  
  
JJ tossed his plate aside, running after him. "How dare you!" He grabbed his arm. "I don't know if you know what you just suggested, McClane. But you better never say that to me again - ever!" He stormed back to their tent. Ryo glared after him, and stormed the opposite direction. So much for truce.  
  
Drake was pretty sure he was awake before Dee, so he'd stayed silent as he went to leave, but was frozen in place by angry voices. He watched the end of Ryo and JJ's arguement from their tent. When JJ entered the other tent he glanced back at Dee. Still asleep.  
  
To piss Dee off, or to deal with the way he'd feel for not checking on JJ?....Dee didn't stand a chance. Slipping out of the tent, he entered the other one. "Sterling?"  
  
Dee had been awake the whole time. He guessed where Drake was going, and didn't blame him. He'd better check up on, Ryo, actually. He was surprised at him for argueing like that, it really wasn't the dark-eyed detective's style. But then JJ always did know all the wrong buttons to push. He waited until he was certain Drake was in the other tent before slipping away into the woods.  
  
The case and the pranks were putting him on edge, Ryo decided. Argueing with Dee didn't help. It was silly, considering they were both there, but he missed his dark-haired lover. He felt like they were miles apart because of the arguements and pranks. Ryo sighed. He was being foolish, and he knew it. But then, he'd never been smart when it came to Dee. He seemed to be able to make all his sense fly off with the wind.   
  
He did feel pretty bad about what he'd said to JJ, too. And right when the two of them were finally beginning to become friends, too. He knew it stung to be called a stiff, but he'd more or less called the younger cop a slut. A touch for a touch, he guessed. "Ryo!" Dee's voice pulled him up short.  
  
"Dee?" He turned, startled. With everything that had been going on, he hadn't expected Dee to come check on him even if he was awake.  
  
Dee paused a few feet away from Ryo. "Must be something in air." He told him casually.  
  
Ryo looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"  
  
"That causes arguements." Dee explained. He paused, studying Ryo's face, then reached out to pull him into a hug.   
  
Ryo went willingly, hugging him back. "I've missed you."   
  
"I've missed you too." Dee told him, pulling back enough to look into his face. "Temporary Truce?"  
  
"Until when?"  
  
"We get back to camp." Dee smirked, his lips descending on Ryo's for a long kiss.  
  
  
  
"Sterling..." JJ glanced back at Drake, smiling slightly. "It's nice to hear that again." He hadn't been too thrilled when Drake had started up that pet name, but he'd grown to like it.  
  
"Your fault, not mine." Drake replied honestly.   
  
"I know." His partner grinned. "But it's been fun, hasn't it?"  
  
"Not as much fun as sharing a tent with you would have been." Drake told him, stepping closer.  
  
"Naughty." JJ began to smirk, then remembered Ryo's comment. He turned away, scowling.  
  
Drake reached out to lay a hand on his upper back, rubbing slightly. "Hurt, huh?"  
  
"He's probably right, but - yes - it hurt." JJ answered. "I was right, too, but I should have held my tongue. Not something I'm good at, though."  
  
"It's been nice to see you and Ryo actually get along. Though I'd still rather you were spending time with me. Been a little lonely, Sterling."  
  
"You've had company."   
  
"Not the one I wanted."  
  
JJ turned back to him with a teasing grin. "Me either...Not that McClane isn't an attractive man or anything."  
  
"Don't get any ideas." Drake warned him.  
  
His partner grinned. "Why? Because Dee would hurt me?"  
  
"Cuz I might have to hurt him." Drake responded. JJ laughed.  
  
To Be Continued....  
  
Cuz it's not over yet. And they haven't made up officially. Just temporarily truces. ^_~  
  
Plus eventually they have to solve the problem at the factory....about when I figure fully out what exactly is happening at the factory. ^0^  
  
Sorry this took so long to get up, if you've dropped by my profile you'll have found out why if not - I had this part almost ready to go and it got deleted and I had to rewrite it all. It's a bit shorter than it was originally. Hope you can forgive me and that you like it still.  
  
Salmon 


	6. New Partners

Camping Trip Part VI: New Partners  
  
"So..."  
"So..."  
"Still stubborn?"  
"As a rock. What about him?"  
"Unmovable. Seems willing to forgive you, but..."  
"Yah, I figured as much. Same way here, he's willing to hold out the white flag to you. But just you."  
"So, what are our options?"  
"Been thinking about that, y'know. Unfortunately, I haven't really come up with any solutions."  
"Well, atleast it's only a cold shoulder and not pranks."  
"I'd prefer to be back to our normal office relationships. Though sharing a tent has done you two a wonder of good."  
"It has...hmm..."  
"What's "Hmmm"?"  
"I just got an idea...but I don't think you'll like it..."

The camp was quiet...perhaps too quiet. Not one word was said as the night deepened. The four police officers occasionally glanced around at eachother, but said nothing. Dee sat forward to poke at the fire that was thinking of dying. Finally Ryo glanced over at Drake. The usually easy-going blonde looked decidedly uncomfortable as he stood up. "Time for first watch."  
"I'll be there in a minute." Dee said. Drake glanced at Ryo as Dee headed up to the tents, but said nothing. He headed off to the watch site.  
"Might as well get some sleep." JJ shrugged, standing up. He paused when Ryo didn't stand. "Aren't you going to sleep?"  
"Eventually." Ryo replied.  
Giving the other cop an odd look, JJ started climbing the hill. Dee came out of the tent and stormed past him. "Ryo..."  
Ryo stood to face his angry partner. "Drake and I aren't in the mood to continue this silly fight. If you and JJ have a problem - you can work it out. You're sharing the same tent and shift now, so it should be easy."  
"WHAT??" JJ whirled back.  
"Are you crazy? I'm not sharing a tent or a shift with him!" Dee glared at his partner, pointing at JJ.  
Ryo glared back. "If you'd prefer to sleep outside, that's your decision. But since Drake and I are taking first shift, you will be on shift with him. Deal with it."  
"We did not agree to this." JJ came back to the fire. "If we're switching partners, why not back to how it should be? I'm not sharing shifts with Dee." Ryo doused the fire, not replying. "McClane, did you hear me?" Ryo picked up his coat and headed for the watch-hill. "Prick!" JJ snapped, and whirled away, nearly running into Dee. The two glared at eachother."Think this will really work?" Drake asked as Ryo arrived at the hill.  
"Either that or they'll kill eachother." Ryo replied, looking down at the factory.  
"Maybe should have taken away their guns." Drake joked. Ryo didn't reply, and he grew serious. "If you're thinking you don't trust JJ with Dee...he's over him, Ryo."  
"I don't know, Drake. What's that quote from Shakespeare? 'Me thinks thee protests too much'? Or something like that."  
"What are you saying?" Drake frowned.  
"That that volatile a reaction...I don't know. Maybe JJ isn't as over Dee as you think. Maybe he's not as over him as he thinks."  
Drake looked angry for a moment, but then it subsided. He glanced down at the factory. "Sometimes I worry about that too. But I know he loves me, Ryo. Even if he does carry a torch for Dee deep inside somewhere. Y'know?"  
Ryo glanced over at him, and smiled. "I think so, too."  
Drake hesitated before continuing. "Besides, I wonder about Dee's reaction too. I mean, couldn't that quote count for him as well?"  
Ryo frowned, his eyebrows knitting in confusion. "Dee just never liked JJ very much."  
"Think so?" Drake arched his eyebrows.  
"What are you saying? I think if he felt anything for him, even a little attraction, it would have come out before now. JJ always gave him plenty of chances."  
"Hmm..." Drake lened back on his elbows. "I'm so sure. Dee's the kind who likes to chase, not be chased. I used to wonder sometimes, if JJ didn't come on so strong, would Dee have run away?"  
"...I don't think they're really eachother's types."  
"What those two are is too alike when you get right down to it. But as narccistic as it may seem, people have gotten into relationships in those kind of situations. So, who knows?"  
"...I trust Dee.."  
"And I trust JJ...and they aren't going to cheat on us or anything. Still, I think we could have lost them to eachother alot more easily than any of us want to admit."  
Ryo rested his head on his knee. "I used to get really jealous of JJ. He was so open about his emotions, I thought. I figured it would be real nice to be such an open book."  
"And now that you two are getting along and know eachother better?" Drake seemed to know the answer.  
"He's not as much an open book as he seems..." Ryo answered with a small smile. "He's open about his attraction, not his emotions. There's a difference."  
Drake nodded. "I think he was jealous of you, too. Not just about Dee, either."  
"He said himself our rivalry has always had two levels. Personal and Professional. And though the personal conflict is no longer there, we'll always be professional rivals...were you ever jealous of Dee?"  
"Can't say I was."  
"Even over JJ?"  
"Actually, no. I don't think I really realized I was attracted to him until after he gave up on Dee."  
"Dee used to tease you about him like you liked him..."  
"I know. I have a disturbing feeling he knew I liked him before I did."  
"Well, you always had such a soft spot for him...I guess I used to wonder, too."  
Drake snorted. "I guess everyone knew before we did."  
"Pretty much." Ryo smiled.  
"Not like everyone didn't know you and Dee were an item long before you were willing to admit it. Spent a long time waiting for you. That's why everyone knew he was head over heels. Dee never was the patient type, yet he waited for you."  
Ryo glanced over, then back at the factory. "It's not that I wasn't attracted to him. From the first day I met him, I couldn't get him out of my mind. He should have irritated me with his attitude...instead, I wanted to be around him."  
Drake blinked. "I always thought it took awhile for you to accept your feelings for him."  
"It did take a long time for me to accept my FEELINGS for him, but attraction's not love. And that hit me on day one."  
"So why'd you push him away?"  
"He didn't seem serious. At first I thought he was just teasing me, but he made it clear he wasn't. But then...he flirted with so many people. I didn't think he thought I was special - just someone else to flirt with, to hit on. And I wasn't going to be some fly-by-night broadway romance. And I definately wasn't going to settle for a one night stand. I wanted something more."  
"But later on, you must have realized-" Drake began.  
"But I didn't." Ryo cut him off. "I even tried to use him like that when I got upset at one point. But he wouldn't let me. I was furious at the time. Later I realized he'd said no because he wasn't willing to be used by me anymore than I was willing to be used by him. He was looking for more, too. That's when I began to realize he was serious."  
"Let me guess. That scared you, too."  
"In a way, yes. Suddenly I'd gone from worrying that I'd just be used to worrying that I couldn't love him the way he needed. Suddenly I was capable of hurting him. And that's a scary thing to realize."  
Drake sat up, glancing back at the tents behind them. "Yah...it is..."To Be Continued...I'm baaaaack!!! Did ya miss me? Okay, we're getting down to the nitty gritty here. Something will soon happen at the factory! But not next chappie. Cuz next chappie Dee and JJ gotta have a long talk just like Ryo and Drake had in this one. Wasn't it kind of sweet? Okay, obviously this is my impression of Dee and Ryo's relationship and why Ryo kept Dee waiting so long. I'm sure not everyone will agree, but they can write their theories in their own fanfiction. 0 If you want me to apologize for being gone so long...go read my bio. It's there. - I won't do that again...well, I hope not. Anyhow, I'm determined to finish CT. And this is the first step toward that. :)  
  
Salmon 


	7. Changing Relations

**Camping Trip VII: Changing Relations**  
  
JJ and Dee glared at eachother as Ryo walked away. "This is all your fault." Dee told him.  
JJ gaped. "MY fault?"  
"You're the one who started all this." "You and Drake were the ones who set up those buckets to dump all over Ryo and me." He protested.  
"You were the ones who switched our watch and tent partners." Dee countered.  
"You were the ones who only brought two tents." "Like that was such a big deal?" Dee frowned at him. "You have the key to Drake's apartment. Who cares if you share a tent? Don't try and sound innocent." He headed up toward the tent.  
"I shouldn't try to sound innocent? What about you? Don't tell me you only brought two tents because you felt like bunking up. You and Drake had plans. Ryo and I foiled them. Boo-hoo, cry me a bucket of tears." JJ caught up and passed him, entering the tent.  
Dee followed. "Tell me you haven't regretted it. Go on." JJ didn't reply. "Thought so." The raven-haired cop smirked.  
"Hmph. I used to wonder what you saw in Ryo. I'm beginning to wonder what Ryo sees in you." JJ turned away, pulling off his coat.  
"Oh, please. This from the guy who used to throw himself at me." Dee retorted, tossing his jacket into the corner of the tent.  
JJ froze, then turned back to glare. "Creep. Couldn't not bring that up, could you? You had to say it."  
"It's true."  
"It's the past. Give it up."  
"Fine."  
The two pointedly ignored eachother as they got ready to sleep. "I think it bruises your ego that I don't throw myself at you anymore." JJ said suddenly.  
"I thought you didn't want to talk about this." Dee pointed out.  
JJ ignored him. "I mean, let's face it, whether you like someone or not, knowing they like you is a great ego boost. So I must have done wonders for your ego, chasing you like that."  
"Dream on. All it ever did was annoy me."  
"If you say so. It doesn't matter now anyway."  
"Then why bring it up?"  
"You're the one who brought it up."  
"You're the one still talking about it after saying you didn't want to talk about it." Dee told him. "You know what I think? You're not over me."  
"Don't flatter yourself, Laytner. I'm beyond over you."  
"If you say so." Dee mimicked his earlier words.  
JJ glared. "Drake's twice the man you are."  
"And Ryo's got more to offer than you ever did or will." Dee replied, turning out the light and lying down.  
"Hmph." JJ lied down as well. "I'm still prettier."  
"You're not my type."  
"That wasn't a come on!"  
"...I love Ryo."  
"...and I'm with Drake."  
"You didn't say you love him..." Dee sounded surprised.  
"I..." JJ seemed unable to finish.  
"Don't force out the words if you don't mean them." Dee told him, suddenly serious.  
"I wouldn't." JJ's reply was barely audible. "But..I do care for him."  
"It's not love yet, then."  
"I'm not sure. Love. Love you have to give yourself in a way that's...you have to give everything. You have to trust completely. Right?"  
"It's not easy." Dee admitted quietly.  
"You didn't seem to find it too hard."  
"I don't think I fully knew what I was getting into with Ryo at first. But when I realized it, I took it one step at a time. Taking him to the orphanage where I grew up, telling him things I wouldn't tell anyone else. Until I was ready to take that final step."  
"It must have been hard to let go like that."  
"Yes. They say the one's who know you the best can hurt you the best. Gotta admit...sometimes I thought about that." Silence reigned for a moment. "You're scared to love him, aren't you?"  
"What?" JJ's eyes widened.  
"The reason you didn't want to share a tent...it wasn't sex you were worried about - it was intimacy. Night after night of being alone, of talking about nothing and everything. It's easy in the city, living seperately. You can see one another on your own terms. When you're ready to. In a situation like this, you're stuck whether you like it or not. And there isn't much of a case to talk about like you can use as conversation on a stake-out." There was no reply, and Dee turned over to face the younger cop. JJ's back was to him, but he was certaing he wasn't asleep. "Am I wrong?"  
"...No. You're right. It's easy in the city. A relationship on your own terms. It's easy to hide behind work to avoid unwanted conversation, or simply say you don't have the time even if you have nothing to do. How come you and Ryo seemed to work all this out before moving in together?"  
Dee switched his position so he was lying on his back, looking up at the tent above their heads. "We really didn't respect eachother's boundaries, I guess. We pushed through even when we weren't welcome. We forced ourselves into eachother's lives. I don't think that would work for everybody, but it worked for us. I guess we were both so shelled away we had to break through eachother's barriers, so there wasn't any other way."  
"Drake seems the type who's more interested in who a person is in the present, not what they've done in the past. But that's just the feeling I get, I could be wrong."  
"I don't think you're wrong about that." Dee told him. "But you'll never know if you hold back because you're worried or scared. You can't expect him to give more than you are."  
"I know." JJ rolled onto his stomach. "Maybe I am scared to love him..."  
Dee didn't reply right away. "Just him?"  
"Are we back to how I used to chase you?" JJ frowned.  
"Did you really want me to agree to be with you? Or did you keep chasing me because I always said no? Didn't that make it safe?"  
"I wanted you to say yes."  
"Did you? Looking back, I don't think you would have known what to do if I had say yes."  
"Meaning what?"  
"What were you looking for? A one-night stand? A long-term relationship?""See? But what about with Drake?"  
"I want something real."  
"Then you have to stop being afraid to love him."  
"One step at a time?"  
"It worked for me." Dee smiled.  
JJ let his eyes slide close. "Strange...this trip has had the strangest effects on all of our relationships with one another."  
"Now if we can just find out what's happening at the factory and go home." "If anything's happening..."

* * *

"Anything?" A voice asked.  
"Just some campers - nobody's searched the factory at all lately. Cops must have given up." Someone replied.  
"Good. Things are heating up around here. Best to switch locations for awhile."  
"I hate that location." A third voice interrupted.  
"Tough. It's my call, and I'm calling it."

To Be Continued...

* * *

So, was this fast enough for everyone?  
Yay! Look, there really is a plot somewhere! lol I've started to star inbetween scenes because never recognizes my triple-spacing between scenes. Hopefully this will make it clearer when a scene switches for everyone.  
Okay, since that didn't work and there was other things wrong, I've reuploaded it and used 's lines in QuickEdit to place inbetween scenes. Hopefully that'll solve all problems.  
  
Salmon 


	8. Back to Normal

Alrighty, I'm back. (Face it, you were worrying again because of how quick my update was. Well, don't! I'm determined to finish this, because I've got another idea brewing. Bad idea machine! Not yet!) Thank you everyone who reviewed. A quick comment to a couple of people -  
  
Devil666sc - Thank you for letting me know the stars weren't working. Not sure why, but I've worked out another way to space the scenes so people won't be confused.  
Rikki-the-Fox - You want poor Ryo kidnapped?? Hmmm...No, no, can't do that! Though maybe I could kidnap someone else...We'll have to see because the factory plotline is growing quite complicated.  
Goddess Iris - Yes, sometimes mine do get a bit jumbled because I'm in a rush. I try to weed it out myself most of the time. I was very bad on the last chapter, though, and didn't even double-check it. I've fixed it up a bit now. Have to think about getting a Beta-Reader. Might be a good idea.  
Okay! On to the story!

* * *

**Camping Trip VIII: Back to Normal**  
  
"We're finally back to the right partners." JJ mentioned as Drake and he wandered through the forest.  
"It's about time, too." Drake told him.  
"You were to blame this last time."  
"Actually, it was Ryo's idea."  
"Well, you were..." Suddenly JJ started laughing. "Let's not argue, okay?"  
"Agreed. Done plenty of that lately." Drake replied, pausing next to the waterfall Ryo and JJ had found the second day into the trip.  
"Too much." JJ admitted, kneeling next to the stream. He glanced up at Drake. "We can always make up for that..."

* * *

Ryo broke the kiss with Dee slowly, pulling back with a smile. "I missed you too." Dee grinned and shut the driver's door of the van. Ryo slipped around to the back to pull out the box of supplies. Dee crept up behind him, planning on pouncing, but Ryo turned and shoved the box into his arms instead. "You'll unpack? Great."  
Dee frowned at his partner. "That wasn't the plan."  
"I know." Ryo replied smugly.  
With a sigh the dark-haired cop headed over to start unloading the box. "So, I take it you talked to the brats on the telephone?"  
"Bikky and Carol are fine." Ryo told him.  
"Didn't ask how they were doing."  
"Yes, you did." When Dee didn't reply, Ryo glanced over at the watch hill. "Anything at the factory?"  
"Not a soul's gone near it. This trip is a waste of time."  
"I wouldn't say that."  
Dee snorted as Ryo came over to sit next to where he was unloading the supplies. "Nothing's happened at the factory. Nothing's happening at the factory. Nothing is going to happen at the factory."  
"Maybe. But I think this trip's done wonders for the four of us." Ryo said solemnly.  
Dee glanced over. "Maybe." He set the last box in place. "But it hasn't given much time for the two of us."  
"Maybe, maybe not...where's Drake and JJ?"  
"Out for a long walk. I don't expect them back anytime soon." Dee smirked, kneeling next to his partner.  
"Really..." A sly smile curved Ryo's lips.  
"MM-hmm..." Dee leaned closer. Not waiting, Ryo reached out a hand to place on Dee's neck, and pull him in to close the final space between their lips.

* * *

Meanwhile, two figures approached the unwatched factory. An elder man, dressed in a suit, with well-trimmed silver-gray hair, glanced over at his companion. A woman in her her twenties wearing jeans, a tank, and a leather jacket. Her hair was dark black and cropped close to her head. They made a strong contrast to one another. Then a second man came up, pulling his wheelchair across the leaf littered forest floor with great difficulty. His hair was bright red and long, but in complete disarray. His shirt and pants, though both business, were equally as bright and equally in disarray. The three didn't look likely to know one another, let alone be working together.  
"Doesn't look like anyone's moved in." The elder man mentioned.  
"No, it doesn't." The woman moved forward, pulling out a crowbar from her jacket. She peeled freshly nailed boards off the door, and entered without looking back. The elder man followed her.  
With an unhappy hiss, the third man pushed his wheelchair across the remaining space into the factory. "What a mess." He opinioned.  
He was right, in fact. Leaves littered the floor and old machinery. And dust covered the leaves. The woman grimaced. "Well, it could definately use a cleaning."  
"That'll let the cops in on the fact someone was here." The elder man mentioned.  
"They already know, they just can't prove anything. And they can't catch us, because I have people monitoring their frequencies. Among other things." She turned back, wrinkling her nose at the sight that met her eyes. "And, anyway. This is only for a short time."  
The elder man nodded, unaffected by the choice. "Can I reiterated taht I hate it here?" The other man asked.  
"As many times as you like, Javis." The woman replied. He glared at her, but she did not turn to look at him.

* * *

Ryo stretched, then reached over for his shirt to pull it on. "Hmm, you weren't kidding when you said you weren't expecting them back for awhile." He mentioned to Dee.  
"I knew what I was talking about. They were probably looking for time alone as well." Dee, his shirt on, but unbuttoned, was laying back in the grass.  
"It'll be dark soon, I suppose we can always take first watch." Ryo mentioned.  
"Sure, why not?" Dee shrugged. "Not like it really matters."  
"What doesn't really matter?" JJ asked as Drake and him reentered the camp. They were both looking a little disheveled themselves, and Drake's shirt was only partly buttoned.  
Ryo stood, brushing grass from his pants. "Who takes first and second watches."  
"Oh, well it doesn't. Nothing's happening." JJ dropped some wood onto a pile near where their fire was usually built.  
"At this rate we'll be here for months." Drake mentioned, plopping down next to the dead fire. "So, what's for dinner?"  
"Ryo brought hotdogs back from his trip to town." Dee replied, standing up as well, and going to one of the coolers.  
"What? No marshmallows?" JJ pouted.  
"What is this, a school field trip?" Dee asked.  
"Actually, I did marshmallows...." Ryo mentioned, biting his lip in embarrassment. "And some chocolate bars and graham crackers..." "You've camped with kids too much." Dee told him, a drop appearing above his head. Ryo blushed.  
"Don't be such a downer! We can make Smores!" JJ said excitedly. "I like smores."  
"So do I, actually." Ryo murmurred.  
"I'll just take one of the chocolate bars." Drake mentioned.  
"Not before dinner." JJ hit his arm.

* * *

Night fell quietly, but clouds were beginning to roll across the sky. Drake glanced up from the dying fire to the storm clouds. "Those tents said they were waterproof, right?" "Guaranteed." Dee replied. "For as much as that counts."  
"Guess we'll see."  
"Aw, afraid of a little rain?" JJ teased him. Drake shot him a glare.  
"Dee and I can take first watch." Ryo volunteered.  
"Alright." JJ nodded, and turned back to Drake and Dee as the other cop headed up to the tents.  
"Hope you brought your rain coats." Drake mentioned as they stood.  
"Luckily, yes." Dee replied, beating out the last sparks of the fire. "Here." Ryo had brought back both their regular coats and their rain coats.  
"See you in a few hours." Drake nodded, and headed up to the tents.  
JJ glanced up at the threatening sky. "Have fun." He told them, and followed Drake.  
Dee rolled his eyes. "Yah, a blast." He commented, as Ryo and he headed over to the watch hill. Down below the factory sat dark and seemingly empty...  
  
To Be Continued...

* * *

These chapters have been kind-of short. But trust me, the later ones won't be. So, who are the mysterious trio at the factory? How long before Dee, Ryo, Drake, and JJ realize they are there? And are the tents waterproof? Wait and see! -  
  
Salmon


	9. Downward Spiral

Camping Trip IX: Downward Spiral  
  
"Waterproof. Right." Drake muttered as he kicked the collapsed tent.  
  
"They didn't say wind proof. Atleast it's our shift, so we don't have to put it back up until morning." JJ told him, glancing over to where Ryo and Dee were struggling with theirs. "C'mon."  
  
"See you in the morning." Drake waved a little too cheerily to the other two and was met my two vicious glares, and a mutter about cheeriness being unneccessary.  
  
"Still dark. I wonder if anythings really going on down there." JJ was already at the look out point overlooking the factory. Down below the factory looked as dark and empty as ever. No sign of light or figures was down below. Drake came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him. "You're wet." He said pointedly.  
  
"So are you." Drake replied. "All our stuff is wet, so there's nothing to change into."  
  
"Should have gotten waterproof boxes." JJ muttered.

* * *

"We're all going to catch colds." Ryo groaned as Dee and him struggled with the tent.  
  
"I'm so going to sue this stupid company." Dee muttered.  
  
Ryo shook his head. "Maybe we should forget about sleep tonight."  
  
"You know, usually I like hearing those words from you, but not under these circumstances."  
  
Ryo blushed and hit his arm. "Dee!"  
  
"Ouch. Geesh, just a joke." Dee told him, smirking. "Although, it is one way to stay warm..."  
  
Ryo shook his head. "And this is why the camping arrangements were switched in the first place." He reminded him pointedly.  
  
"That wasn't a neccessary thing to say."  
  
"I thought it was."  
  
Back away from the camp in the surrounding woods a pair of eyes watched them. They narrowed dangerously, glaring at the two before their owner slipped away down the hill.

* * *

"They aren't campers." The woman stormed into the factory. Javis looked over at her, the other man was asleep. She kicked him. "Wake up."  
  
"That better have been neccessary, Kaitlin." He sat up, his eyes deadly.  
  
"They're cops."  
  
"Who?" Javis asked.  
  
"Our innocent campers. They're staking the place out."  
  
"You're certain?" The business-suited man was instantly on his feet.  
  
"Yes, I recognized one when they switched duties...and I heard one of the guys on the shift mention the factory. Right now they don't know we're here."  
  
"Well, that's that. New location." Javis shrugged, far from disappointed.  
  
"New location..." Kaitlin mumbled to herself, her look thoughtful as she turned away.  
  
"There's always the abandoned motel on the southside." The third man shrugged.  
  
"Ethan...didn't you say you had friends in Chicago who'd put us up?"  
  
The gray-haired man frowned. "Yes, but is that really neccessary."  
  
Kaitlin's eyes flashed. "Maybe...temporarily. There's an old friend up on that hill that I inted to repay for his...kindness..."  
  
"Leave me out of this." Javis said, turning his wheelchair to head for the door.  
  
The click of a gun made him turn back. Kaitlin and Ethan both had their guns trained on him. "You're in this up to your neck, Javis. You don't want to misstep now." Ethan told him. Javis glared at them, but turned back.  
  
Kaitlin lowered her gun and Ethan did the same. "Let's not waist time arguing. I have a plan, and we're going through with it."  
  
"There are four of them and three of us." Javis reminded her.  
  
"Not for long. Kaitlin replied.

* * *

"I still say you get the easy job." Drake glared over at Ryo and Dee.  
  
"This is not easy." Dee told him as he and Ryo worked to clear up their campsite. "If anyone has it easy, you two do."  
  
"Having to go into town and wash and dry all this stuff, get new food, and water-proof boxes to put all this in because it's likely to rain again is not easy." Drake told him.  
  
"Grumble grumble. Let's just go already." JJ told him as they he closed the van doors, the last bag of things loaded in.  
  
"We'll have something resembling lunch by the time you get back." Ryo promised.  
  
JJ looked questiningly at the remaining food that had survived the storm. "You two can have something resembling lunch. We'll get lunch in town."  
  
Drake rolled his eyes. "It'll probably closer to dinner time when we get back. We'll bring take-out." He promised. "What should we get?"  
  
"Pizza."  
  
"Fried Chicken."  
  
"Tacos."  
  
Drake glanced between the three, eyes narrowed. "You're getting cheeseburgers." He got into the driver's side of the van.  
  
"Yes, Dad." Dee teased him. Drake shot him a frown as he started the van and JJ climbed in. Dee grinned as the van pulled away, but paused - glancing over his shoulder with a frown.  
  
"Are you gonna work or stand there all day?" Ryo asked him.  
  
"I just thought..." Dee looked over at the trees, than shook his head, and turned back. "Nevermind."  
  
Ryo looked at him worridly. "You okay?"  
  
"Thought I heard something for a minute there." Dee told him. "Overactive imagination I guess."  
  
"Guess we're all getting tired of this place." Ryo admitted with a grin. "We need some more water to clean things up."  
  
"I'll get it." Dee picked up the bucket, but was pulled short when Ryo brushed his lips against his. "What was that for?" He asked.  
  
"Just felt like it." Ryo told him, smiling.  
  
Dee's eyes danced and he leaned down to give him a longer kiss. "Be right back. Maybe we can finish up early if we work fast enough."  
  
Ryo bit down on a smile as Dee headed off toward the stream.

* * *

Dee hummed to himself, dumping the old water on the ground and leaning slightly to fill the bucket from the small waterfall.  
  
"Excuse me."  
  
Dee whirled, startled. Ethan stood not far away from him. "Can I help you?" He asked, a small frown flitting across his features. Ethan hardly fit into the woods, dressed in his business suit, and if he'd come from the road he should have found their camp first, not the stream.  
  
"I'm sorry to have startled you." Ethan said smoothly, holding up his hands in a placating manner. "But I'm looking for someone. Did anyone come by here."  
  
"Can't say I've seen anyone around at all. Except you." Dee replied.  
  
"I see. Well, if you see a woman around...I have a photograph." Ethan reached into his coat, and Dee tensed. He did pull out a photo though, and handed it to him. It was of Kaitlin. "If you see her..."

* * *

Ryo glanced up, frowning. It had been a long time since Dee had gone to fetch the water. Looking at the partly cleaned up campsite he headed off into the forest. "Dee?" He called, but didn't get an answer. "Dee!" Not liking the lack of response he hurried to the stream, but didn't see Dee. Then he spotted the bucket floating down the stream.  
  
"Dee!" He called again, pulling out his gun as he raced up the bank. He paused at the waterfall. The mud was churned up, evidence of a fight. Laying on the ground was what looked almost like paper. Picking it up he realized it was a photo, with words written on it. Wiping away the mud he froze when he saw Kaitlin's face, and part of a word. Wiping it off completely he read the message -  
  
Call anyone in and he dies. Look in the factory, McClane.  
  
'DEE!' Ryo's hand clenched.  
  
To Be Continued...

* * *

I just kidnapped Dee. Man, I'm mean. So, what's going to happen now? Will Ryo lose his cool and go down to the factory? Will Drake and JJ make it back in time to help? Will someone get injured, maimed, killed? Wait and see! We have actually reached a plot, so the story should end soon. lol  
  
Salmon 


	10. The Silence Before the Storm

Camping Trip X: Silence Before the Storm 

Oops...I meant to finish this over a month ago. --' Sorry everyone! Well, this goes a long way to finishing the story. Hmmm...and it looked a whole lot longer where I yped it up originally. Darn. Well, mostly what was going to happen here is obvious, but there's a twist at the end of the chapter I bet none of you were expecting!

Thank-you to everyone who reviewed! I can't believe this story has 99 reviews! Whoa! I've never had that many before! Thank-you so much! bows many times And don't forget to review this chappy! 'Kay? ;)

* * *

Camping Trip Part X: Silence Before the Storm

"When going to buy things, money is a neccessary." JJ tormented Drake as they pulled in next to the ruined camp area. "Not to mention a driver's license to drive"  
"So I forgot my wallet! Anyone could do it!" Drake grumbled, climbing out.  
JJ, who had planned on staying in the car, climbed out when he saw Dee and Ryo were nowhere in sight. "Where'd Dee and Ryo go?" He asked Drake.  
"Quality time alone?" Drake suggested.  
"We were going to be gone all day - why would they have gone anywhere else for quality time together?" JJ frowned at the empty camp, not liking it one bit. Everything seemed eerie suddenly. The torn up camp, the quiet woods. While Drake searched for his wallet amongst his belongings, he picked up a pair of binoculours and headed over to the hill that overlooked the factory. He froze when he saw Ryo making his way through the woods, rifle in hand, heading toward the factory. "McClane?" He whispered.  
"JJ, what are you up to?" Drake asked, waving him back.  
JJ ran back to the camp, grabbing up his sniper case, grateful it was waterproof atleast. "Something's happening." He turned and started running, wondering if they could catch up with Ryo in time.  
"What? Hey, wait up! JJ!" Drake ran after him, still at a loss at what was happening.

* * *

Ryo gripped the rifle tightly as he made his way down the forested hill. There was no way to call back up without endangering Dee's life - and that was something he couldn't risk. He knew he was letting his feelings for Dee cloud his professional judgement, but he brushed it aside. He was the only person at risk besides Dee, so that - atleast - was one less worry. Suddenly there was the sound of atleast two people crashing through the underbrush behind him. Whirling, Ryo pointed his rifle in that direction just as JJ and Drake came into view. "Whoa! Don't shoot, McClane!" JJ held up his sniper case, as if it could block the bullet. "It's us." He peered out from behind the case.  
"What's going on here, Ryo?" Drake asked, coming up. "Where's Dee? What the hell do you have your rifle out and loaded for"  
Ryo was torn between relief and frustration at seeing the other two cops. "Dee was grabbed. There's someone in the factory, alright. Though I don't know how it's possible." He pulled out the picture with the scribbled note. "We have to move in now - before they do anything to him"  
"You know who this is?" JJ asked him.  
"Her name's Kailin Selm. Her partner is Ethan Marks. They're supposed to be serving a thirty year sentence in a maximum security prison. No parole"  
"Let me guess - you and Dee are who locked them up"  
Ryo shook his head. "Just me, it was before I transferred. Before Dee"  
"How'd they know to grab him then?" JJ asked, brows furrowing.  
"They've been watching us, obviously." Drake stated. "Who knows how long they've been down there? Maybe the whole time"  
"I think they have to have arrived later than us." Ryo told him. "If they arrived first, why wouldn't they move on us sooner"  
"We need to call in back-up." JJ stated. "Dra"  
"We can't." Ryo cut him off. "That's one of Kaitlin's tricks. She has someone who monitors the police frequencies. Never failed her"  
"Let me guess - he was the guy you never busted." Drake put in. Ryo nodded. "Shit"  
"Telephones. She can't monitor telephones." JJ spoke up. "We call in with all the detail, and make sure they keep it off the airwaves, but get back-up out here"  
"And we find telephones where?" Drake asked.  
"By the office to the park, of course!" JJ swatted the back of his head. "You go and make the call, and then we can wait - "  
"She'll know somethings up - we have to go in now." Ryo disagreed.  
JJ pursed his lips, than nodded. "Twenty Minutes. Time for Drake to get to the main ofice and make the phonecall atleast. Then we'll go in, I'll back you up. They think we've left, so we've got an edge, right"  
"Fifteen minutes." Ryo argued.  
"Why you and Ryo?" Drake argued.  
"Because we're the sharpshooters. There's no guarantee the only ones in there are these two. If there's been a prison break we weren't informed of, there could be a dozen. Ryo and I are the right choice"  
Drake hesitated, scowling, but slowly nodded. He pulled JJ to him, crushing his lips to his briefly. "Watch your back, Sterling"  
JJ blushed at the use of the nickname in front of Ryo, but nodded, watching only long enough to make sure Drake was really leaving, before kneeling down to snap open his sniper case.  
Ryo glanced at his watch, turning his gaze on the factory, as JJ began to assemble his rifle. Not far away a pair of eyes watched them from another section of forest perimeter near the factory. They narrowed dangerously.

* * *

Kaitlin paced the factory, clipping and unclipping the bullet pack from her gun. "That's really annoying, you know." Dee, tied up to a nearby wooden support beam mentioned.  
Kaitlin turned, slamming him across the face with the bullet pack. "Shut up!" She ordered him. "I left your mouth open so you can talk to your sweetheart, not to annoy us with"  
Ethan was by a window, trying to peer out through the boards covering it. He held up a walkie-talkie. "Well, Javis? Anything?" There was no reply for a moment, and Kaitlin snatched it off of him.  
"You better not have fallen to sleep out there Javis, or I'll put you out of your misery"  
"I'm here, don't shout." Javis' voice snarled over the speaker. "He's almost out of the woods, he's hesitating, trying to plan a course of action"  
"Anyone with him? The other two didn't return did they?"  
"...No, he's alone. Revenge will be sweet, I assure you"  
"Just keep an eye out." Kaitlin handed the walkie-talkie back to Ethan. "He's starting to annoy me"  
"We'll take him out before we leave town." Ethan replied, unaffected.  
"Such a caring little group. Tell me, what's the story behind you three? Don't even look like you should know eachother." Dee spoke up again. "And how about some water? Don't I get a last request"  
"You'll have a last beating if you don't shut up." Kaitlin told him, watching the woods throught the boarded window, waiting.

* * *

"I'm going in." Ryo told JJ, who nodded, rifle at the ready.  
"If you can't get them to come out, I'll follow you in." JJ told him.  
Ryo stepped out into the open area around the factory, walking forward slowly. "I'm here!"

* * *

Dee's head snapped up when he heard Ryo's voice. 'That idiot!' He cursed in his mind. "Ryo! Get out of here! They're just going to kill us both!" He shouted out, and was punched in the stomach by Ethan. Doubling over, he gasped for breath, trying to regain his senses enough to shout another warning.  
"Here that, McClane?!" Kaitlin shouted out. "You're boyfriend's still alive"  
"I want to see him!" Ryo shouted back. "Bring him out here"  
"Take the nozzle off the rifle and throw it away!" Ryo seemed to hesitate, then slowly did as she'd ordered, tossing the nozzle far out of the way. "Now the handgun!" More careful this time, he tossed it toward the factory. It slammed into the wood next to the door, than fell to the ground.  
"Let me him go! It's me you want anyway"  
Kaitlin glanced at Ethan, who picked up the walkie-talkie again. "Anyone besides him out there, Javis?"

* * *

Javis, closer now to where JJ was, picked up the walkie-talkie from his lap. "No one. Now leave me alone before the cop hears your annoying voice and comes after me!" He turned it off and threw it away, turning back to where he could see JJ through the trees ahead.

* * *

"Javis. Javis!" Ethan hissed. He tossed the walkie talkie away as well. "We should have killed him sooner"  
"Forget Javis for now. Take the annoying brunette to the door, let McClane see him"  
Ethan punched Dee in the gut again to imobolize him before untying some of the bindings and taking him to the door. Stepping out, he held Dee mostly in front of him still. "Take a hard look! It'll be your last!" Ethan shouted out to Ryo. The sound of the rifle going off was followed by a cry from Ethan as he fell, releasing Dee as he crumpled to the ground.  
"Ethan!" Kaitlin screamed, running to the door. She turned her gun on Ryo, who had been running towards them. A shot grazed his arm, and he rolled out of the way as Kaitlin knelt by Dee and Ethan. "Ethan! Ethan! Damn you, McClane!" She jabbed her gun into Dee's throat, only to have it shot out of her hand by Ryo, who'd recovered his handgun. She retreated into the factory as Ryo pulled Dee outside.  
Ethan was dead, a clean shot right through his skull. Ryo wondered why JJ hadn't taken Kaitlin down - she'd been an open target! "Dee"  
"M...okay." Dee told him. His hands were still tied behind him. And his voice was rough and quiet from the abuse to his neck and stomach. "Ryo"  
He was silenced when Ryo kissed him fiercely, but briefly. "Stay here." He followed Kaitlin into the factory.  
"Ryo, wait!" He tried to shout, but it came out a hoarse and too low to hear. "There's another guy! Ryo!"

* * *

JJ watched as Ethan crumpled, lining up a second shot as Kaitlin exposed herself as a second target. The gun was slammed from his hand, and he heard the crunch of bone in one wrist. Before he could turn, he was slammed across the shoulders and sent sprawling. Pushing himself up on one elbow, clutching the broken wrist, he turned to face his attacker.  
Javis was sitting on the forest floor, obviously having dragged himself silently across the ground to reach him, a branch in his hand what he'd used to attack him. "Hello, Jamie." He greeted. "Surprised to see me?"

To Be Concluded...

* * *

I love pulling things like this on people. I had Javis' purpose planned before Kaitlin and Ethan's actually. Hehe. So, one last chap to wrap things up. I'm sure you're thinking - HOW'S THAT POSSIBLE?!? Let's just say that things only get partially solved. I've got a new story in the works that'll fill in the rest. grin So I'll try to have the last part up before the end of the month. So stay tuned!

Salmon


	11. AN The World Is Against My Muse

AN - The World Is Against My Muse

I hurt (possibly broke) my pointer finger on my left hand. This makes typing not easy, and it's slowing down my ability to get the final chapter typed up. But I'm working at it diligently and I promise it will be up in Febuary!

Geesh, I swear the world is against my muse or something. Stuff like this always happens in the middle of inspiration.

Salmon 


	12. Confrontation

Camping Trip XI: Confrontation 

I think I just realized how short these parts have been getting. Well, as you may have noticed, this is an exception. Of course, if I hadn't gone and hurt my friggen' finger it wouldn't be late. Good news is it isn't broken, but I'm still typing semi-one-handed so it slows things down.

* * *

Camping Trip XI: Confrontation

Ryo held his gun at his shoulder as he crept along the factory wall, scanning the cluttered room for a sign of Kaitlin's passing. But the dim light seeping through the boards of the windows only helped to aid whatever cover she'd taken. Hearing something to his right he turned, and saw her pointing a handgun at him. He dodged behind a rusting piece of machinery as she fired a round. They obviously had a stock of weapons in the factory. Ryo jumped out to fire a shot, but Kaitlin had already taken cover. He dodged behind a support beam, trying to listen for her again. "You're never going to escape, Selm! You might as well hand yourself in." He called out to her.  
"I might not get out of here uncaught, but as long as I take you out, McClane, I don't care! You, your boyfriend, and whoever you have out their backing you up! Ethan's dead because of you"  
Ryo dodged for the next cover, firing a shot in the direction of her voice. He heard the shot clunk dully against metal and cursed silently. He had to keep her talking until Drake and their back-up arrived.  
"And Javis too! The traitor! He had to have seen your back-up"  
Ryo froze. That meant there was someone else out there. Was that why JJ hadn't been able to fire a second shot? But why hadn't this third party warned Kaitlin and Ethan about JJ? He had to have been out there already when they arrived. He had to have seen Drake leave - know where he was going...shit! Dee was still out there - and tied up at that! "Who's Javis?"  
"The third bird that flew the coop. We worked together to get out of prison. Javis had been there the longest. Over ten years, I understand. Knew how everything ran like clockwork. Only reason we bothered to involve him. Useless otherwise, paralyzed from the waist down. But he wasn't always so helpless. Murdered a handful of people - some cops included, it seems. Got shot in his arrest, I suppose. Never talked about it"  
Ryo tried to put a case to the info Kaitlin was shelling out, but his mind drew a blank. Surely something like that would have made the newspapers...A scuffle to his left alerted him to Kaitlin's presence and he dodged a new round of bullets, diving under a new cover. "Sounds like you three worked well together...so why would he betray you"  
"He was a whiner, not like Ethan. Ethan never complained...Damn you, McClane!" Another round hit above him, and clanked into the metal barrels he'd dived behind. It was a useless act, and Kaitlin knew it. She'd fired it to vent her rage. Tears blurred her vision and she shook them away. "I'm going to kill you, you know...It's just a matter of time. Shouldn't have come inside. This is our hideout, and I know my way around." Slipping off her boots she climbed up a nearby ladder. "Peek-a-boo, I see you"  
Ryo's head shot up, spotting her on the ladder before she fired.

* * *

Drake paced the gravel grounds of the park's head office. Though a part of him wanted to head back to factory, he'd been ordered to atleast get the park's security to back him up before going back. The problem was the park security had been out and was taking forever to get back to the office! At this rate he was beginning to think his police back-up would arrive first. It wasn't like he'd never had to leave friends and coworkers in dangerous situations before. It was part of the job, and he knew JJ and Ryo were both capable officers. But they still didn't know all the details of the situation, and that bothered him. They could just be squaring off against the two criminls that had a vendetta for Ryo, or there could be a dozen convicts hiding out in the factory. But it wasn't as simple as that, really. Something just had him on edge, and he didn't like it. Was he worried that Ryo would be too centered on Dee to maintain his professionalism? No, Ryo might have been going off half-cocked before they'd caught up with him, but he'd calmed down enough for the cop to come through. It was something else. _Blue Sense_ perhaps. Something telling him time was running out. Giving up on orders, he climbed back into the van and started for the factory.

* * *

Dee had managed to pull himself to a sitting position alongside Ethan. His hands were still behind him as he searched the dead man's coat for a pocket knife he knew he'd seen him with earlier. Finally as he searched the suit jacket's inside pocket his hands closed on the cold metal handle of the knife. Pulling it out, he flicked it open, positioning it so the blade was against the ropes holding his wrists and forearms tightly together and began to saw at them. The knife was sharp, but the rope was thick, and they'd gone three-quarters up his forearms. It would take some time to get loose.  
He glanced out at the silent woods, wondering why JJ hadn't come to back Ryo up. He knew some guy called Javis was out there, but he also knew he'd lied about who was there to Ethan when he'd asked. Unless JJ had caught sight of him and given chase as he tried to escape. But, no, the younger cop knew Ryo was counting on him to back him up, and though there were times he hated to admit it the kid was always a professional when it came to that. So he could be in trouble, but judging from the shots that rang occassionally fom the factory, so was Ryo. Torn between who to help, he just kept sawing, hoping Drake and their back-up would arrive soon enough to spare him the decision.

* * *

"Hello, Jamie. Surprised to see me?" Javis asked, a thick branch still held in both hands.  
JJ could only stare for a minute, one hand holding his broken wrist. "Javis..." He finally got out. "You"  
"I'm supposed to be in high security prison for life...no parole. I remember. Just like I remember how I got there...just like I remember why I can't walk anymore..." The red-head's eyes narrowed, and he tightened the grip on the branch.  
"Trust me, Javis. I remember too." Blue eyes were warring between a professional calm, and other emotions. Rage, sorrow; fear. He took a deep breath, reminding himself silently that back-up was on the way. That he had to keep control.  
"Oh? I guess you've come to terms with it all then, too, huh? Seeing as Ethan's dead out there, and you don't seem the least bit remorseful"  
JJ's jaw clenched, his good hand squeezing the broken wrist tightly, the pain keeping him focused. "I did what I had to"  
"Now are we talking about Ethan or me"  
"Both"  
"I'm surprised you're so calm. But I forgot, you're a cop now. Or do you think that I can't hurt you because I can't walk over there?" Javis asked him, watching him.  
"I know better than to underestimate you. You found and shot your way through a police safe house." JJ replied, wondering if he could reach his rifle. It was useless to him with his broken wrist, but it wasn't useless to Javis, and he could reach it with ease.  
"And got taken down by the sixteen year old punk I was there to take out." Javis hissed. "So, why haven't you pulled your handgun yet? Oh, right, you gave it to your friend McClane, didn't you"  
JJ's eyes widened a fraction, registering that he knew he'd given Ryo the gun and knowing he couldn't have seen that and not Drake. That meant he knew back up was on the way. So why stall?  
He dived for the gun just as Javis reached for it. Bringing up the arm with the broken wrist and allowing it to take the painful hit of the branch that he'd expected. He managed to yank the rifle out of his grip - sending it crashing into the underbrush, only for Javis' branch to slam into his head. He rolled away, vision swimming and head pounding as he forced himself to sit up. "You'll never get out of here. Should have run when you had the chance." JJ told him, blinking to clear his vision. He could hear Javis moving, but where to?  
"And pass up my chance at revenge? Don't you know me better? Isn't that why I killed Alan? Maybe I should stick around and take out your blonde friend when he returns"  
Wincing from the pain he cleared his vision enough to open his eyes to see, only to have his legs knocked out from under him. He vaguely registered which way the branch had come from and rolled the other. But that had been Javis' plan, and he rolled right to him. As he tried to back away, his broken wrist was captured in the red-head's strong grasp. He kicked Javis in the side, sending him to the dirt, but his grip remained tight. He yanked him down, his other hand taking a firm grip on his other arm, pinning him to the ground. He brought up bent both legs, trying to get an aim at Javis' stomach, but the other man used his grip on his arms to slam his head into the ground. For the second time his vision swam. He felt himself sinking toward unconsciousness.  
No! His mind sceamed. He couldn't let himself die like this! Not by Javis. Not when he'd just threatened to kill Drake. All he'd have to do was retrieve the rifle and wait for him to come back. He could see it in his mind's eye, the blonde making his way down the cliff. The rapport of the rifle - his own rifle - and the arc of blood as he fell. He fought back to consciousness, trying to clear his vision.

* * *

Ryo turned rather than dodged, letting the bullet hit his nongun arm. He fired at Kaitlin, who was an open target on the ladder. Seeing his plan, knowing she couldn't get up in time, Kaitlin let go of the ladder's metal rungs, falling to the floor nearly ten feet below. Ryo saw her half-land - then collapse. Her ankle had probably broken in the fall. He started to make his way toward her, but she managed to rise on her good leg, taking aim with her gun. As he dodged for cover she let off a barrage of bullets, and one hit his gun, sending it skittering across the floor.  
Kaitlin gave a triumphant cry. "Who's finished now, McClane?" She demanded, limping as she tried to circle around to lineup a shot around his cover.  
"You still, you just don't know it yet." Ryo told her, his hand slipping inside his suit jacket to where JJ's handgun was hidden. He dodged to a different cover before she could line up a shot, trying to get a clear view of her. He needed to unarm her again. She was injured from the fall and not thinking in terms of needing the weapons hidden in the factory where she'd gotten the new gun and extra bullets for it. She'd gone through several rounds, he knew that.  
"Nobody's coming to back you up, not soon enough. You weren't out there long enough to have untied your boyfriend. As for your sniper, it's pretty obvious he's not coming. Javis probably took him out and ran for it. It's just you and me now"  
Ryo bit his lip. JJ was either unconscious or dead, otherwise he would have followed him inside by now. Judging by what Kaitlin had said about the third party in her group, it didn't seem likely he'd go through the effort to knock him out. His free hand clenched, causing pain to spasm through it from where Kaitlin's bullet had lodged in his arm. If JJ was dead.  
Kaitlin seemed to sense his silence. "What's the matter, McClane? Upset you're going to die, or that you let one of your friend's die because you wanted to play hero and save your lover"  
Ryo gritted his teeth, but didn't reply. Was she right? Had he let his desire to save Dee get in the way of duty? He pulled out JJ's gun, trying to line up a shot.  
"That gives me an idea. Why don't we raise the stakes in our game of cat and mouse, shall we"  
"What are you talking about, Selm?" Ryo asked. He heard her moving off, away from him. Then he realized she was heading back toward the front of the warehouse. She was going after Dee. He peered out, and had to dodge a shot, before diving for new cover, closer to her. Looking up at the barrels he'd hidden behind, he debated for a moment before pushing the tower over.  
It toppled with an ear-splitting crash and metallic ringing that continued as the empty barrels scattered across the warehouse floor. Kaitlin, almost to the door, whirled, an open target herself as she spotted him before her un was shot from her hand. With a curse she dived to the floor, rolling behind cover briefly. As Ryo ran forward, she struggled to her feet, disappearing out the front door. Dodging around the chaos he'd caused in the factory, Ryo followed.

* * *

Dee pulled the last of the ropes from his arms, rubbing to bring life back into them when he heard the crash, and the bullet that followed. His head snapped up, and he rose to his feet, looking for a weapon as an eerie silence followed it. Then Kaitlin limped out the front door. Spotting him free she gave a cry of rage, using her bad leg to kick him in the side, sending him sprawling. Falling to her knees besides Ethan she grabbed up his fallen gun, pointing it at Dee, who rolled away as she fired a shot.

* * *

Up a distance in the woods, Javis was distracted enough by the crash for JJ to kick him away. His vision was still murky, and his mind fogged, but he was aware of Kaitlin's shout of rage as he tried to get out of Javis' reach. "Great, she's gone crackers." Javis muttered. "I guess you and I will have to finish this another time, Jamie"  
The branch connected with his head one final time before the world went blank.

* * *

Drake left the van open, engine running as he parked as close to the factory as the vehicle could take him. The woods had invaded the roads that had once led away from it. He heard the crash as he emerged, and took off. What the hell was going on?

* * *

Ryo reached the door, only to be tripped by Kaitlin who was still kneeling by Ethan's body. He hit the dirt on his good side, using his bad arm to grab Kaitlin's gunarm. She let out an inhuman screech, raising her arm to hit him, only to have it captured by Dee, who hit the gun out of her hand, before pulling them both behind her back. Ryo managed to rise to his feet, pulling out handcuffs and wearily putting them on her, but letting Dee keep control of her.  
"You okay?" Dee asked him, and Ryo nodded, holding his wounded arm. "There's another guy-" He began, only to have Ryo raise a hand to cut him off.  
"I know. I'll look, but, did you see or hear anything"  
When Dee shook his head, Ryo closed his eyes for a moment before turning to head to the woods where he'd left JJ. The rapport of a rifle greeted him, and he collapsed, clenching his side and leg. "Ryo!" Dee screamed, trying to spot where the bullets had come from, but he hadn't been watching the woods.  
Ryo looked up, trying to judge as well, but it was futile. He tried to rise, but sunk back down with a curse. "We'll never catch him now."

* * *

Back in his wheelchair, Javis shouldered the rifle, watching the scene down below with a smug smile. He'd made it to an old paved path that had been recently cleared. Turning his wheelchair around he started up it, obviously knowing exactly where he was going. It was the path he, Ethan and Kaitlin had used to get to the factory and would lead him back to the vehicles they had arrived by. One was one he'd stolen with handpedals. By the time back-up arrived, he'd be long gone from the park. He paused briefly to pick up a wallet in his lap, opening it to look at JJ's ID again. His address was printed on it. Pocketing it with a smirk, he continued on his way.

* * *

"Dee! Ryo!" Drake emerged from the woods, spotting the other two cops instantly. He felt his chest tighten when he didn't see JJ immediately. "What's going on"  
Ryo had risen painfully to his feet, still holding the bleeding bullet wounds in his side and leg, and Dee was still keeping ahold of the screeching Kaitlin. "Drake! One's still out there!" Dee told him.  
"Where's JJ?" Drake demanded, and when the other two did not reply or meet his gaze, he took off into the woods to where he'd left him and Ryo earlier. I didn't take him long to find him, lying without moving on the forest floor. Seeing how beaten up he was, he froze for a moment, but spotted the tale-tell rising and falling of his chest with relief. Picking him up with ease, he headed back to Dee and Ryo. "Where'd the last one go?" He demanded, lying JJ down in front of Ryo, who sunk down to check his wounds when he saw he was alive.  
"We didn't see"  
"Back-up's on the way." Drake told him, reaching out to brush JJ's cheek with his fingers. "Watch him for me." Taking out his gun he headed up into the woods, looking for any signs. He found the drag marksand followed them to the path. Seeing no one he sped up his careful pace, gun ready. The paved path emerged onto a road through the park, where a van was parked. He threw open the back of the van, pointing his gun inside, only to find it empty. Looking up and down the stretch of barren road he cursed outloud before heading back the way he'd come.

* * *

A Few Days Later...

"This is about as botched up a job as you can get without any of our people ending up in the morg!" The shouts from the chief's office could be heard distinctly from any part of the office in the vicinity. Inside, bandaged up and looking worse for wear than they had last time they'd been inside Taicho's office together, Ryo, Dee, JJ, and Drake simply waited for him to finish. "Both our top sharp-shooters are out of commission for weeks if not months, we've got one escaped convict under sedation at the criminal hospital, one in the morg, and one on the loose! What the hell happened out there? Were you lot asleep on your feet!" When there was no reply he glared at the gathered group. "Well"  
"They caught us off guard after the storm. It could have happened to anyone." Dee told him nonchalantly, arms crossed and looking far from guilty. Beside him Ryo looked concerned, and Drake was watching their head officer nervously. In sharp contrast to the group, or to his normal behavior, JJ remained stiff and silent beside his partner and lover, nursing his broken wrist while his eyes remained glued on the floor.  
"So how come this sort of thing always happens to OUR division!" Taicho demanded.  
"We did solve the case, even if one got away." Drake brought up cautiously. "And given we weren't even informed of the possiblility of their being escaped convicts in the area I think we did pretty good"  
"Letting Javis Clarks escape is not pretty good." A new voice interrupted. The group turned to find Berkely Ross had entered the room.  
"Who is he exactly? Kaitlin was saying things about him, but I couldn't place a case." Ryo was curious.  
"Not surprising, since it happened so many years ago, and cross-country at that." Berkely drawled. "Either way, it doesn't matter. Our section of the case is officially closed. It's been handed over to the FBI. We've been ordered out of it"  
"You're kidding." Dee scowled.  
"Far from. I just got the orders phoned in"  
"I don't suppose at the moment most of us would be any use in tracking him down." Ryo adjusted the crutch he had under his arm, glancing between Berkely and Taicho.  
"At the moment the lot of you aren't good for much." Was the sharp reply from the chief.  
"I think Drake and I are in good enough shape for duty." Dee objected.  
"Than you two can file the paperwork." Taicho replied. Drake shot Dee a glare that spoke volumes. "McClane, you're on paid leave. Go home"  
"Yes sir." Ryo said weakly.  
"That goes double for you, Adams." Taicho began but was cut off.  
"Actually, Detective Adams has an appointment with the FBI Agent in charge of the case now. He has to answer a few questions about his encounter with Javis Clarks"  
"Shouldn't that be our job?" Drake asked, frowning.  
"The FBI will supply you two with the info they deem neccessary." Berkeley replied, causing a confused glance between Dee, Ryo, and Drake. "Detective Adams, follow me"  
"Yes, sir." JJ started forward, glancing over at his companions with a half-hearted smile. "See you later"  
After the two had disappeared, Taicho dismissed them and they exited, frowning. "What was all that about?" Dee demanded of none imparticular. "What did the crackpot in the criminal hospital say about Javis, Ryo"  
"He was a murderer, and apparently got shot in his arrest - which left him paralyzed from the waist down. She said something about him killing some cops too - but no real details." Ryo told him.  
"So what does that have to do with the FBI stepping in like this? It's our job to interview JJ - not theirs"  
"Do you think he was involved with the case?" Drake asked suddenly.  
"I don't think so. Berkely said it happened years ago, and Kaitlin said something about Javis being in jail over a decade. JJ wouldn't even have been a cop back then - he'd still be in the Academy at most. Why do you ask?" Ryo turned to him.  
"He's been awful silent about this whole thing - he won't talk about it." Drake replied. "I figured if he was involved with the case, maybe that's what was bothering him"  
"Probably just got his ego bruised by having the guy take him down." Dee waved it off.  
"Could say the same about you." Ryo crossed his arms.  
Dee winged. "Did you have to"  
Drake ignored them, glancing away with a frown.

* * *

"Your IDs are being replaced, and a new badge will be sent to you." Berkely told JJ as they stopped in front of an interrogation room. Inside they could see Diana waiting for him.  
"Thank-you sir"  
"Though, of course, we're hoping to find Javis - and your wallet - before they arrive." JJ nodded, and went to go inside, when Berkely stopped him. "Adams, I'm only going to give you one warning - so you better listen. Whatever grudges you have against Javis Clarks, I suggest you forget about them. Because if you go after him on your own, I promise you - I'll have your badge taken away in an instant. Clear"  
"Crystal." JJ replied, and Berkely stepped aside so he could enter the interrogation room.

End...

* * *

For now. lol Because this is heading into a whole other story now, so that's what it'll be. Not sure if the first part will be up this month. Maybe next? We'll see. Gotta draft it out so things go quicker. Well, hopefully this makes up for how short the last few chapters have been and everyone likes the end. I intended to end on a bit lighter note, but it didn't happen. And there wasn't any good oppurtunities for romantic moments of yumminess. Next story, they'll be plenty. Trust me- Thank-you all who reviewd this story! I've never had a story go over 100 reviews, and I'm really proud of it! Please let me know what you think of the ending! Reviews are great inspiration!

Id-chan: That was a shameless plug.

Be quiet and explain the italicised slang I used midstory.

Id-chan: I can't be quiet and explain at the same time.

phbbt Fine, I'll explain:

_Blue Sense_ - A cop term. Sort of a sixth sense/gut instinct that they say you pick up after a few years. Heard it on Unsolved Mysteries. lol

Later!

Salmon


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